Jenova
by Jared Someone
Summary: "You don't know who i am? i've been with you ever since you can remember how to think, i'm that dark sense in you that tells you to attack, to harm...and no matter what you say or do, you already know that there is no way you can get rid of me...i'm your conscience, im your wrong, your devil...and you have no angel," S x K, Action/Sci-Fi/Romance
1. Prologue

**_J _**_enova_

_x_

_**Jared **Someone  
_

x

**_P _**_rologue_

_**x**  
_

_ShinraCorp HQ_

_Edge_

_1995_

**_x_**

"Good evening, this is DemyxNews and I'm your host as always, Vanille Oerba, tonight, a murder in Traverse leads police to an Unversed Family hotspot, and crowds gather in Radiant Garden for the premier of the movie AVALANCHE, based on the book series of the same name. But first, our top story continues to be the impending fall of ShinraCorp,"

"For weeks now, ShinraCorp has been under constant investigation concerning the rumors regarding illegal experimentation on humans, as well as several rumored projects considered completely dangerous. Sources close to the World Restoration Organization have stated that an internal investigation will begin within the next few weeks regarding ShinraCorp, and if the rumors are revealed to be true, ShinraCorp could be facing severe charges, and its CEO, Rufus Shinra the Second, could be facing a sentencing the likes of which Gaia has never seen before,"

"Despite the fact that ShinraCorp has yet to be Indicted for their supposed crimes, Stocks in the company has been decreasing for the past couple of weeks, and even if ShinraCorp is found innocent, it could be a while before their stocks-"

The television in the room instantly shut off, the office now only lit from the moonlight outside. It was quite large for an office, glass walls for a perfect view of the world below them, a desk with a computer on it near the far end, with a coffee table and lounge chairs of to the side and a television mounted to the wall near the door. In the office chair sat a man in his early 30's, dressed in a white suit and blonde hair, holding a glass filled with an alcoholic beverage as he stared at the tv, despite the fact that he had already turned off the television.

"Gran Pulsian Slut," The man muttered as he drained the glass and moved away from his desk towards a glass cabinet near the table and chairs, which was filled with many different poisons, he opened it and took out a bottle with a label that read _M-potion_. As he closed the cabinet, he caught his reflection. Was that really him? He was normally a lot calmer when he faced his reflection, despite what situation either himself or his company had gotten into, he could release a sense of confidence that would cause others who were fearful to instantly join the man in his calm state. But now, his pale skin and bags under his eyes would not bring that state to anyone, rather just cause panic throughout everything.

The man shut his eyes and dragged himself away from the reflection as he made his way to one of the many glass windows around as he looked out. It was night time, for this time people were returning home from work to greet their families, have a cooked meal, and maybe even squeeze in a television show before they went to bed. This was not the routine of the man standing in the grand office. He had no time for fresh cooked meals, or dramas on television, or even a family, not when he had a company as large as ShinraCorp to run. He couldn't afford to take even a seconds break from his job, for if he did, something like this would only be ten times worse.

He heard the door open slightly, as he drew his attention from the city below to the reflection of a young woman, dressed in a black suit, entering the room and looking at his back, "Professor Hojo is here to see you Mr. Shinra,"

"Thank you Elena," Shinra muttered as she walked out, leaving the door open for but a moment as the figure walked in. Shinra did not need to study the man that was walking towards him, as he had met with him many times before. He had memorized everything about him, from his long black hair tied in a ponytail to his square shaped glasses, and his lab coat that he had taken to wearing since his first day at ShinraCorp.

"Hello Mr. President," Hojo muttered as he walked towards the desk and helped himself to a seat.

"Formalities were always your strong suit Hojo, but i don't think we have time for them at the moment," Shinra stated as he walked to his desk and took a seat, pushing a glass that he had retrieved earlier and placed it in front if the man.

He looked at it for a moment before replying, "I make it a habit not to drink on the job, Rufus," and pushed the glass slightly away. Shinra shrugged as he took the glass back, but poured himself another glass of M-potion.

"So, how screwed are we?" Hojo asked as he leaned back in his chair, and Shinra waited until he had drained his glass, the burning sensation nothing compared to the situation they were in, "Well, if DemyxTime Media continue to report this rumor mishap we could find our stocks worth nothing more then toilet paper," Shinra wasted no time in pouring himself another glass.

"Stocks should be the least of our problems at the moment Rufus, we're about to be investigated, and if they find out about what we have been doing, you, me, hell the entire board could be indicted for illegal experimentation on humans, a charge that is just the tip of the iceberg of illegal projects and dangerous connections,"

Shinra held the glass with his fingers, as he began to think. Thinking was always his strong point. He had been able to quietly maneuver through the law for almost 5 years, he knew there was a way to still save his company and also his freedom. As he drained the glass, the effects of the drink still not hitting him, he looked up to Hojo.

"How long can we hold off the warrants for our labs?" Shinra asked, and Hojo began to think, trying to remember how well the District Attorney liked or was in debt to Shinra. Finally, he responded, "Anywhere from two to three weeks, depending on who they go through to get the DA to sign,"

Shinra nodded as he placed his empty glass down, too much in deep thought to ruin his brain cells. It took him a moment to speak, "Alright, I'll get in front of a camera tomorrow, i think we still have some friends in DemyxTime, ill tell them we have plans to renovate one of our labs to help the public, a psychological rehabilitation asylum to help those who have lost their minds, the renovation of one of our high tech labs into a public building should get the press and the people on our side and push our stocks up,"

Hojo looked at the man for a moment, before saying, "That's all good and well for the stocks, but what about when the WRO finds the projects Rufus, how are you going to get out of that one?"

Shinra already knew the answer to the question, it was just an answer that he did not like, taking a deep sigh and closing his eyes, the thought unbearable and yet necessary "Shut them down, all of them, destroy all records, all our research and finding, have the best of our people relocated, the rest let go and ensure they are paid handsomely so they keep their mouth shut. Numbers to our lawyers on retainer should go out to them, especially if the WRO begins sneaking around to them,"

Hojo jumped up, he couldn't believe what he was hearing, 5 years they had spent with the research projects, they were all going so well, and just like that he wanted to everything that they had worked so hard for for so long?

"But sir, we've spent hundreds of millions of dollars on these projects each, if you suddenly decide to cancel them theres going to be hell to pay!"

"We've survived through worse before, and as long as those Mako Reactor's continue to generate power, and our stocks are high, we will get the money back in no time," Shinra sighed as he poured himself another drink.

"Then think about the time and effort that went into these projects, think about the things we were doing, to create a better world sir,"

"I cannot create a better world while confined to a prison cell, if ensuring my freedom means getting rid of the projects, then so be it,"

"Sir, what about Jenova!? what about Vanitas? what about-"

"Enough!" Shinra slammed his fist on the table, which rattled the entire thing, and made Hojo step back just a bit, "You seem to be under the impression that I _want_ to get rid of these projects, the truth of the matter is that we have been so close to success that I am tempted to risk indictment just to finish them, but the risk is too great, we need to put a stop to it as quickly as possible...now tell me, how long will it take?"

Hojo sighed as he took a seat slowly and removed his glasses to wipe them, revealing his brown eyes as he began to calculate statistics, before placing them back on and responding, "Well...if we hold the conference tomorrow that might get reporters to cease snooping...we could probably have all projects shutdown and erased within a week...maybe a week and a half," Shira nodded his head at the man, as he walked towards the window again.

"Good, i want you to return to our lab on Hallow Bastion to begin the reconstruction for the Hallow Bastion Psychological Rehabilitation Asylum, I'll get on the phone with the other project heads and get them decommissioning all projects, information and data, ill get on camera tomorrow in regards to the change, and if we're lucky, we can bounce back and have the WRO off of our skin,"

Hojo nodded his head as he stood up and made his way towards the door, before the voice of Shinra stopped him, "John...i'm sorry about this...I know how much time and effort was put into your project, but you must understand-" But Hojo put his arm up to silence his old friend as he began to talk.

"How long have we known each other Rufus?" he asked, and Shinra took a moment to respond, "Since I was a kid," Hojo nodded and smiled, expanding on his friends answer, "Since before you were in charge of this company, before ShinraCorp was one of the largest companies on the planet, and was merely a simple energy distributor called the Shinra Electric Power Company, i've known you for so long, and i know that you have good ideas, and are where you are because of them...I may not like the fact that I'm being shut down after working for almost 3 years on it, but if you feel that this is the right course of action, then I will follow you,"

Shinra looked at his, and before that his fathers, old friend and smiled as he nodded his head, "Thank you Hojo,"

Hojo nodded his head, and made his way out of the room, closing the door softly behind him. Shinra sighed as he looked towards the window. He had no idea what would become of his company without the Projects, he did not even know if his company would survive the investigations he knew were coming, but if he did everything right, then not only would he keep his company, but he would also keep his freedom.

Shinra poured himself one more glass and drained it just as quickly, before he slowly sat it down and got on the phone, calling himself a car to drive him back to his house, making a note to call DemyxTime while in the car. He knew that he would not get much sleep that night, and perhaps the next few weeks he would be living in the land of Insomnia, but that was the price he payed, that he had been paying since he had been made CEO of ShinraCorp, and had risked the company on multiple times, each one paying off.

Crossing the office, he took his coat and buttoned it up, before he looked back at his office before he closed the door, and smiled, "Maybe one day...Jenova can continue,"

_**x**_

**Hello all you fine and beautiful readers, So it's been quite a while since i have posted...well, anything on here, a lot has changed and i've just gotten used to it. But im back, and hopefully for a while now. So heres the Prologue to my new story, which i hope you have enjoyed. But now you might be asking, what have you been up to Jared? well let me tell you...and if you haven't been wondering, then you can skip to the review section at the bottom of the page.**

**So basically i've been on a gap year, which is basically a time after high school but before university where i can do...well, pretty much whatever i want. But you must be thinking, "Jared? why didn't you write fanfiction while you were on your break?" Well, the short answer is, i had decided at that point to write my own novel.**

**8 months and 10 ideas later, i was giving myself writers block every few weeks, and i sat down and realized that i could get rid of the writers block by doing what i had been doing in the past, mainly fanfiction.**

**So using ideas that i had come up with over the past few months, Jenova was created, and hopefully you will be shocked as well as enjoy reading the story.**

**BTW guys, HAPPY LATE DREAM DROP DISTANCE RELEASE! what did you all think of it? i loved it, not only cause its kingdom hearts but also because of how they told the story. Tell me what you thought in the review section.**

**well, hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, but check out my homepage for updates as well as announcements, Peace fanfic fans.**

**Jared Someone.**


	2. Beginning of the Same Old Story

**_J _**_enova _

_x_

**_I_**

_x_

_Destiny Islands_

_Present day_

x

Jenova...

Jenova...

Jenova!...

"...Sora?"

The wind blew through the small crack in the window of the car, hitting the face of the young teenager as his eyes slowly began to blink, awakening from slumber as he felt the cold feeling of the glass window against his face. Running his hand through his brown spiky hair, His cerulean eyes darted towards the water that was below them before he realized that they were on a bridge. Where were they?

The teen let out a soft groan as he straightened up in his seat, his sudden movement causing the other person in the vehicle to turn his attention to him, "Afternoon sunshine," The voice caused him to turn his head towards a man that looked as he did, with blue eyes that seemed to be a bit brighter then his own and with short blonde hair. He looked at the boy, who seemed to be a bit dazed, confused and also shaking a bit and asked, "You ok Sora?" to which the teenager nodded his head.

"Yeah, just...bad dream," Sora answered softly as he looked out of the vehicle they were traveling, "How long have I been asleep?"

"Couple of hours, hasn't been too interesting, but you missed some good sights," The man looked forward, ensuring that the car made it to the other side of the bridge.

"Sights don't really interest me dad," Sora muttered as he rested his head on his hand, looking at all the cars passing by as they all made their way towards the same destination that they were going.

Sora contemplated going to sleep once again, but as he looked up, he noticed that the end of the bridge was coming up, and soon they had passed it and were on a road, leading towards what Sora could only assume was a small town. As he continued looking into the distance, he noticed a sign that was coming up. He leaned forward to get a better look, not waiting for the car to get any closer as he read, "'Welcome to Destiny Islands'...well, looks like we made it," Sora muttered as he stretched back into his seat and soon watched the sign pass by as they made their way towards the town.

"So apparently, what we're coming up to is Twilight Heights, which is where the house is..."

"Dad,"

"And further up is Twilight, thats the city..."

"Dad..."

"The school should be somewhere near Twilight Heights, and over there-"

"CLOUD!"

Cloud looked up and his eyes widened as he instantly came to a screeching halt. When he was looking around and seeing that there was no danger around, he turned to his son. "Yevon above Sora, you almost caused me to crash, what is it?" To which Sora pointed back from where they had passed, "You missed the house,"

Cloud looked at his son for a moment before he got out of the car, looked behind them, and then returned back, "Oh...right..." Muttering something about all the houses looking alike, he reversed back as Sora just rolled his eyes and soon found themselves coming up the driveway.

The house was small, just like all the other houses that were around there, but it wasn't small as in cramped, more so it was roomy. Sora could instantly tell that there wasn't going to be much of a backyard, but it didn't bother him so much, he was used to exploring the street rather then the back of his own house. He didn't wait for his father to follow as he made his way towards the front door, trying to turn the doorknob but found it wouldn't open. Rolling his eyes, he reached into the pocket of his black jeans and retrieved a lock-picking set. Playing around around with the doorknob for a few moments, he smiled as he heard the lock click and placed his picks into his pocket as he turned the doorknob once again, this time allowing him entrance.

The inside of the house certainly fit the outside. In front of him was a staircase leading to a second floor with only two rooms and a bathroom area. To his left a living room that lead to a kitchen, and towards the end of the house was a back door. Making his way to the back of the house (and easily getting through using his picks) he walked out to the backyard, which provided a small bit of land to run around, hang clothing up and lie down, but otherwise was nothing spectacular.

"You know..." Sora turned around to see Cloud leaning against the door with his arms crossed in a relaxing fashion and looking at his son, "You should really stop picking the locks of houses, it'll get you in trouble in yet another place,"

Sora smiled as he walked towards his dad, "Then you shouldn't have taught me how to in the first place," causing Cloud to let out a small chuckle as he said "Touché," and allowed his son back in.

"So, what do you think?" Cloud asked as Sora leaned against one of the walls, giving the place a second quick glance before nodding, "It's got everything we need, don't see why it would be bad,"

Cloud smiled as he walked into the living room, saying, "Glad you liked it...and glad it looks like the pictures I saw on the website,"

"Yeah, that's always a plus," Sora smirked as he made his way towards the door, looking outside, "So what time did the delivery people say they were gonna be here?"

"They said anytime between now and night time, they got lost a bit when we got out of Edge," Cloud said as he looked out from behind his son.

After a few moments when Sora knew they wouldn't be coming any time soon, he opened the door and stepped out, "Where are you going?" Cloud asked, to which Sora responded with, "Gonna go explore,"

"Alright, just be back when the Truck gets here...oh, and..." Cloud reached into his pocket and withdrew a metal key before throwing it too Sora, "Here, you'll need this to get back in,"

Sora turned around and caught the key just in time, looking at it before looking at Cloud with a look of skepticism on his face. Holding it up, he asked, "Do you really think I need it?"

Cloud let out a small laugh before saying, "Humor me...I'll call you when they get here,"

Giving his dad a one finger salute, he turned around and heard the sound of the door closing. He smiled as he placed the key into his pocket and began walking down the road, taking note of all the houses looking exactly the same, and wondered if the insides of the houses looked exactly the same as their new house. Sora scoffed, if this was true, then it was a safety flaw if ever he saw one, a thief who robbed one house would know exactly where everything else is in every house along their neighborhood, sure there would be safes and security boxes hidden around each house, but a true thief who knew what they were doing could easily locate and open them.

He didn't know how or why his train of thought had gone down that path, it was just a reflex for the teenager. Everything from someone else's house to banks to even fast food areas, he was always casing whatever room he found himself entering, like some part of him wanted to rob the area they were in. Shaking it off, he looked behind him and made a mental note of the path he had taken so as to get back home easily and to ensure that he did not get lost.

As he turned a corner and made his way down a street, this one with different styled houses, he soon found a small park area. Deciding to take a break from looking at houses (and how to rob them) he made his way towards the park. Full of trees and with a small play area for smaller kids, Sora made his way towards one of the swings that were there. Sitting down, he let out a sigh as he wrapped his hand around one of the chains and slowly pushed his feet off, allowing him to swing slowly and comfortably. Sora felt a cold breeze come over him and wrapped his leather jacket around him, and looked up at the cold air coming, which is when he noticed the group of kids.

They looked around his age, all ranging from tough looking guys to a couple of girls. Sora took note of the alcoholic bottles which looked like Potions they were drinking. Although this made Sora a little thirsty, he was not desperate enough to go over to a group of random underage strangers and ask for their bottle of Potion. He might as well ask them to punch him in the face and break his nose.

He hadn't realized he had been looking at them for so long until he saw one of the girls, a brunette look over and stared directly at Sora. Sora glanced down, but not before he noticed her tap the shoulder of one of her guy friends and point in his direction.

_Great, now you've got them looking over here, they're gonna come and try to beat the crap out of you _Sora thought as he felt something more then the cold air giving him goosebumps. He contemplated leaving, until something stopped him from moving, a voice inside his head.

_"They're talking about you,"_

"What?" Sora asked himself, not sure what he was thinking, but he knew he hadn't thought of that.

_"That group, they're talking about who you are, one of them is calling you a freak," _This voice sounded exactly like his, but it was darker, and a lot more calmer then he was at that moment.

"You can't know that," He muttered.

_"Oh really?" _The voice asked and almost instantly, another voice entered his head, this one he could not identify.

"**_See that kid over there, he was looking at us...That kid with all his friends over there," "What a freak!" "Definition of loser right there,"_**

Sora closed his eyes, trying to ignore the voice that was inside his head, but it continued to talk, _"What are you waiting for, teach those pussies a lesson they will never forget," _The voice said, and for a split moment, Sora was actually tempted to go over to the boys and start a fight, but he thought better, it wasn't the first time this situation had occurred, and he made an attempt to get up and make his way away from the situation, before the voice hit again.

_"Are you actually going to walk away? you could easily beat those kids and they would learn never to disrespect you like that ever again,"_

"I don't even know those kids," Sora muttered a little louder then he had been talking before.

_"And that is even more the reason why you should go over there and ensure that they never say anything like that again, that they should respect and fear who you are,"_

Sora was about to say something louder, but this time a fourth voice entered his ears, and not through his thoughts, "Hello?" He looked up to see the young brunette girl who had been caught him staring before. Her green eyes looked at him with what Sora could only assume was concern, as looked away for a moment and responded with a small "Hello,"

"Are you waiting for someone, you look alone here," She asked, and Sora shook his head, "I'm just...exploring...new place and all,"

"Oh you're new, I thought I didn't recognize you from school, I assumed you just went to Departure Academy...well, i'm Selphie Tilmitt and you are?" The girl talked extremely quickly and held out her hand, Sora, just barely understanding what she had said, shook his head as he took her hand and answered "Sora, Sora Strife,"

"Well Sora Strife, it is a pleasure to meet you, how long have you been here?" Selphie shot her next question off faster then the last one, and Sora took a moment before he looked at his watch and responded with, "Only a couple of hours,"

"Wow, new new place huh?" She giggled and Sora let out a small laugh, not sure what was funny as he looked around, hoping to end the awkwardness with a question, but once again Selphie solved that problem with another question.

"So, what school are you going to?" She looked at him with eyes filled with curiosity and interest, "Ah, it's..." Sora racked through his memories until he stumbled upon a conversation with Cloud revolving his education and recalled the name of the school he had said he would be attending.

"Twilight Heights High," Sora said, thinking that was the name of the school, and assumed he was correct when the girl before him jumped up in excitement.

"Oh awesome! thats the school I go to, it's really great that you're going there, it's so awesome, not as great as Departure, but still a good school with good people, you're really going to love it,"

Sora was struggling to hold onto the conversation and could actually feel his brain hurting from how much this girl was talking, he knew that if he didn't get away soon he might say something that would hurt her. But before he had to think of an excuse to leave, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Silently thanking Yevon for the call, he said, "Sorry, I've got to take this," and Selphie nodded as Sora answered the phone.

"Hello? ...yeah dad...ok, on my way, see you in 10," and Sora hung up as he turned to Selphie, "Look, I'm really sorry to cut this short but i have to go, :'ve gotta help dad with unloading some stuff, but I'll see you around school?"

"Yeah of course, I'm always running around so i'm bound to-" Selphie began but Sora, sensing that this might go on for a bit longer then he needed, gave her a nod and said, "Great, i'll see you then," and turned around, walking off as he did and not looking back the at the girl.

As Selphie looked at the teen walking away, She let out a small sigh. He certainly did seem strange, and she could of sworn that he had been talking to himself when she had been approaching him. She decided for now that she would leave it, but made a mental note as she returned back to her friends that she should keep an eye out on him.

**_x_**

Sora sighed as he turned back into his street, glad that he had something to do and was not left to his thoughts. He didn't have to look hard to remember which one was his house as he noticed the large moving van out the front, where Cloud was helping one of the overweight men with the sofa. He placed it down and clapped his hands together as he turned around and noticed his son walking towards him, "Nice of you to join us Sora,"

"Sorry i'm late dad, just got caught up in this conversation with this...very talkative girl," Sora muttered as he looked up into the vehicle, seeing that it was completely empty.

"Making friends already, that's great," Cloud smiled as he turned to talk to the man, but was interrupted by his son "Dad...where are all my stuff?"

"I've already put your box into your room," He responded and Sora muttered a great as he made his way towards the house, "Oi...where are you heading?" Sora stopped in his tracks as he turned around to face his dad.

"Where do you think? to my room?"

"Oh really, and who is going to put all this stuff in the house? Or do you think it would be a good idea to meet our neighbors by having a yard sale?" Cloud's eyebrow rose.

"Isn't that what they are payed for?" Sora pointed to the moving men and Cloud let out a short laugh as he shook his head, "They are payed to move our items from one place to another, you are here to help me move this stuff in,"

"Fine, I'll move my desk and bed in,"

"Oh? And are you planning on using the couch?"

"...Yes,"

"How about the television,"

"Well, yeah-"

"And the chairs, the table, how about the coffee table? how about-"

"Dad!" Sora stopped his father from continuing his questioning, "What has that got to do with this,"

"Simple...you're going to use it? Then you can help bring it in," Cloud stated, and Sora sighed as he took his jacket off and placed it on the chair closest to the door, followed by his phone and wallet, "Fine, let's get going,"

"That's what I like to hear," Cloud smiled victoriously as he gave the moving men a couple of hundred Munny notes, before he turned to Sora and walked over to the other side of the large looking couch,"

"We both work together, we can get this done quickly and you can set your room up," Cloud smiled as both himself and Sora lifted the couch up and together father and son made their way into the house with the heavy couch.

It took them a few hours, and the light of the sun had just passed over the last of the houses, but eventually they managed to move the last item, the television set into their new house. Tired and sweaty, Sora and Cloud dropped to the couch, breathing heavily and wiping their heads as if they had spent the entire day digging tunnels in the sand.

"I don't think...i can move," Sora breathed heavily as he was beginning to make plans to never leave the comfortable yet heavy couch.

"Tell you one thing...i'm not making dinner," Cloud muttered as he closed his eyes wondering if it was a good idea to fall asleep.

"That makes two of us," Sora said, and it took a moment before the two looked at each other, and responded at the same time, "Pizza!"

"I'll make the call," Cloud reached for the phone before looking towards Sora, "You unpacked all the stuff from your room?"

Sora looked at his father for a moment, before he looked to the side and mumbled something, "Sorry, didn't catch that?" Cloud stated, and Sora sighed as he got up and made his way towards his bedroom. Cloud chuckled as he said, "When everything is unpacked, you can have pizza,"

Sora rolled his eyes as he bound up stairs, turning left and opening the door as he entered the room.

The room wasn't particularly small, but wasn't the biggest thing he had ever been in. Despite it's small size (Sora guessed that he could not fit more then four people inside the room) he liked the quiet and small area. As Sora took a few steps he looked around, embracing the room which was his until he decided to move out or change it. A desk was left of the door, while on the right wall was a closet where he could hang his dozen or so clothes. His bed in the far left corner with a small desk where he could place a few items, and a window above it. Apart from that, the room was bare.

"Least I get a window," Sora muttered as he moved towards his desk that contained the box that was labeled _Sora's stuff_, he removed his laptop, which could easily be identified as a ShinraBook, a 17th birthday present from Cloud and the very latest in Shinra computing. Placing it on the desk and hooking the charger into it, he turned it on as he continued shuffling through items, eventually finding his sPlayer+ and its charger, another technological item created by Shirna which was mainly used to play music, which he plugged and placed onto his side table. Sora shuffled and placed a few more items in their place, before he moved onto his clothing, putting them all away rather quickly, and in a few moments three empty boxes sat near his door, and his empty room now felt a lot more like his own. Sora wasn't much of a "poster" person, but he made a note that the walls, while the plain color that he didn't mind having, were a bit empty

"Just like home," Sora smiled as he laid on his bed, and took in a deep breath, smelling something familiar. With his eyes closed, his senses brought him back to his old home in Edge, though there were a few changes that he enjoyed. For one, he didn't have to battle the sound of horns and people walking and talking for peace and quiet. He hadn't been sure about the transition from the busy city life to the Destiny Islands, but now that he was there, he could truly say that the change was good for him, that he felt a lot better not just physically, but also mentally.

Sora soon heard the doorbell and knew instantly it was the pizza delivery man. He was about to comment to himself that they had gotten their quickly, but when he looked at his phone, he realized that he had drifted off into a short slumber for almost half an hour. Jumping up, he made a dash out of the room, remembering to turn off the lights as he closed the door and allowed the moon which was high above the sky now to shine its light into his room.

**_x_**

**Hello again all you lovely people. So after the prologue i know it might have been a little confusing, but with this new chapter, i hope you have enjoyed the beginning. I do think i have lost my fan-base, but it gives me a chance to meet a lot more wonderful people. To those of you new to my writing, i say hello! welcome! and i hope you enjoy what i have to offer.**

**So i feel sleep getting the better of me, and thus will keep this short. To those who had subscribed, fantastic! you are wonderful, you should review as well, just so i can love you even more. I want to thank **EthanFlux **and **Keyblades of Oblivion **For your wonderful reviews, and hope you have enjoyed this chapter as much as i have writing it.**

**Hopefully update just as quickly, until then, ciao!**

**Jared Someone.**


	3. The First Day: Part I

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_II_**

**_x_**

_Strife House_

_Destiny Islands _

_Present day_

**_x_**

The peaceful air that hovered over the Strife Household was instantly destroyed by the sound of an Alarm clock going on. Sora moaned in frustration as he rolled over in his bed, his arm appearing from underneath the warm covers into the cold air as he glided it over his phone, sPlayer+ and eventually his alarm clock, as he swatted it with some force, causing it too stop blaring it's loud noise in his ears.

Any chance of falling back to sleep gone, he focused his eyes on the time, barely making out the 7am on his clock as he slowly arose. The cold air instantly hit his tanned chest, he let out a noise that signified he was freezing and began moving, trying to warm his body up. Heading towards his closet, he took a pair of black jeans and a white t-shirt along with a towel that was hanging from the door, as he opened it and crossed to the right of the second story path, opening the door to his bathroom.

As he placed his towel and clothing on the sink, he quickly made his way towards the shower, getting in and turning the hot water on as much as he could. The cold feeling on his body slowly turning to a warm temperature, he let a smile escape his mouth as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the hot water on him. Quickly washing, he turned off the hot water and dashed out, grabbing his towel and trying to contract heat from that. Although the towel was not as good as the water that he had felt moments before, it still did the job of keeping him somewhat warm. Sora soon found his black boxer shorts and soon had his black jeans on and white shirt. Looking through the mirror, he ran a hand through his recently dried chocolate-colored hair, and his spiky bangs instantly falling into place. Nodding his head in happiness, he exited the room.

Bounding down the stairs, he made his way towards the kitchen, a simple place with a small round table in the corner, a kitchen counter to the righthand side, which held all the normal items you would find in a kitchen; stove, dishwasher, sink, fridge and pantry. Sora headed to the pantry and took out a tasteless breakfast choice, finding a bowel in one of the cupboards and adding milk, he sat down at the table and began eating, having finished half the meal in almost a minute.

The door towards the laundry area, which was right in front of the table Sora was eating opened, and cloud emerged, yawning as he placed a basket of clothing to the side, and said, "Morning Sora,"

Sora smirked at his father, "Turning into a stay-at-home wife every day dad?"

"Well who else is going to do it Sora? I don't see you hurrying to do it?" Cloud retorted.

"Of course, someone has to be the man here,"

"Oh? Do let me know when this someone arrives,"

Sora and Cloud shared a laugh as Cloud took a seat and looked at the time, "Glad to see you're not going to be late on your first day of school,"

"You sure I can't wait till the beginning of next term Dad? i mean it would be better not to come in half way," Sora lamely attempted to get out of going, but this plan was not going to work, "Nope, best you get back into that rhythm of going to school as soon as possible,"

Sora grumbled as he continued to eat his breakfast, clearly disappointed that he had failed to get out of going to school.

Cloud let the silence continue for another moment before he began, "Actually, i wanted to talk to you about school...your bike's not going to be here for another month or so, so I was think-" But Cloud could not continue as Sora stood up outraged.

"What are you talking about!? It left the same time as everything else!,"

"They said they had trouble getting in here in the truck,"

"...that's code for 'we've broken it' isn't it," Sora sweat dropped, not happy at all about this news that his father had failed to tell him for over a week.

"Moving on, I was thinking that i could take you to school for your first day,"

Sora looked at his father for a moment, before he sighed, "Well it's too far to walk and i don't have my bike OR a Public Transport Pass...i guess i'll have to say yes," Sora smiled, he did enjoy car trips with his dad, though he wasn't sure how it would look, the new kid getting a lift with his dad on the very first day. Regardless, he was not sure how else to get there, so without arguing, he smiled as his dad allowed him half an hour of free time before they had to go.

Walking back to his room, Sora opened one of the draws which contained several notebooks and a pencil, rubber and pen. Walking over to his closet, he took out a brown sling bag, and dumped all the books and stationary in the bag, he crossed to his bedside table and unplugged his sPlayer+ and mobile phone, dumping the two items into his bag a little more gracefully then he had his books, before he took his wallet and placed it in his back pocket. Running down stairs, he moved back to the kitchen as he took an apple from it, having something to eat should he get hungry and placed it into the bag. Finally he moved to the living room, where he remembered he had left his biker jacket. Swinging his arms through the sleeves, he left it undone as he sat in one of the chairs, taking out his music player as he removed the headphones from where he usually kept them; inside the jacket pocket. He turned on the sPlayer+, and the clear metal screen instantly lit up, as an 'S' appeared taking up most of the screen, before shrinking to the side as the word _Shinra_ appeared, before it disappeared save for the S, and was replaced with the word _sPlayer+_. Sora waited as the name disappeared, before a menu board appeared with four rather large pictures indicating different applications, where he could see photos, videos, connect to the internet, but more importantly could listen to music as he hit the "music" application. Plugging it in and shoving the earbuds in, he scrolled through the list of songs before he found one, and began playing. He tapped his foot on the floor as he began humming the song, and before he knew it, he found himself singing the song softly.

_When you cry yourself to sleep tonight, _

_You will wish that i was by your side...yes you will!_

"You're getting better," Sora was startled as he ripped the headphones out to see his dad leaning against the door looking at his son.

Saying nothing, clearly embarrassed, Sora shoved the sPlayer and his headphones into his bag as he got up, "Ready to go?" He muttered, and Cloud let out a small chuckle as he walked up to his son.

"You know theres nothing wrong with your singing, you're a good singer," Cloud placed a hand on his shoulder, and smiled.

"And you know how I get when other people hear me sing," Sora reminded him as he slung his sling-bag over his shoulders and walked towards the door. Cloud sighed as he followed his son out of the house and towards their car.

As Cloud got in, he noticed his son searching the pockets of his jeans, "Lost something?" He asked, but Sora didn't respond as he undid his buckle and jumped out of the car, running towards the house. Cloud sighed as he closed his eyes and smiled, waiting only a few moments before he heard the sound of the car door slam.

"Should you really be driving if you're going to be sleeping?" Cloud opened his eyes to see Sora smiling at him. Ignoring the question, he formed one of his own, "What did you forget?" to which Sora revealed his set of picks, to which Cloud groaned.

"Can you go anywhere without those just once, the last thing i need is for you being suspended on the first day for breaking into the principals office,"

"You never know when they will come in handy," Sora said, but Cloud gave him a look that said he couldn't trust Sora as far as he could throw him, "Alright, how about if i promise not to break into the principal's office...today,"  
Rolling his eyes, Cloud started the car and soon they were on their way towards Sora's new school. Sora looked out of the window to see a lot of cars driving either to work or to school. Most of the cars looked pretty new, with only some Sora recognized as an older model from time to time, but despite this all the cars looked quite powerful, As more began to pass, Sora quickly grew tired of all the models, and decided he would try and get a power-nap before they got to school. However, Cloud had other plans as he began a conversation.

"Listen, i've been meaning to talk to you about something," Cloud kept his eyes on the road as Sora's looked at him, "About what?"

"Well," Cloud began as he cleared his throat, still looking at the road, "I've been thinking that we should get back into your Meditation again,"

Sora groaned in annoyance at this suggestion, "Meditation? but that takes hours every day! I'm in my Critical year of School, I don't have time to spend doing these meditation techniques,"

"Sora!" Cloud looked at his son, but it wasn't one of anger and frustration, but it was one of fear. Not for himself, but for his son, "When we were in Edge you thought you were getting better, and i agreed to stop doing the Meditation...and then you almost-" But Cloud stopped short as he looked at his son, a mixture of sadness and shame on his face as Cloud took a deep breath.

"All I am saying is that you should at least consider getting back into it, i know you have a better sense of control then when you were younger, but it's still important to have control...you're in your final year, you are going to have a lot of pressures and the last thing you need is too let those situations and pressures get the better of you...i just don't want you too lose control again,"

Sora sighed, everything his father had said was correct, he had known ever since Cloud had suggested that they move that he would have to go back to that meditation, it had just been a matter of when he would bring it up. Sora was well aware that if he did not control it, then it could destroy not only him, but also people that he cared about.

"At least think about it today," Cloud ended as he pulled the car up, and Sora looked up, not realizing that the conversation had been that long, as they were now in front of the school building. Sora nodded his head and muttered an "I'll think about it," As he undid his buckle and slowly exited the car, closing the door and not bothering to look around as Cloud drove off back home.

Sora turned and stared at the very large public school building in front of him. All around him students were slowly making their way towards the building, whether they were in groups talking about the large assessment task they had done, or whether it was what they had done on the weekend, or even plans that they had for the weekend that was still so far away. Trying not to make eye contact with anyone, he looked up at the quite large building, with the words _Twilight Heights High School _in metal on the top of the doors. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the school.

The first thing he noticed was the office area in front of him. Several different men and women were all sitting behind the glass, typing something into their computers. Around were different chairs one could sit in, and a table with an assortment of pamphlets. As Sora drew closer, he realized that they were promoting some of the subjects at the school. The corner of one of the music promotional pamphlets caught his eye, and he slowly reached down, picking it up.

The picture was of a girl standing near a mic, clearly singing into it. Sora studied her feature, to put it simply she was beautiful. Her long auburn hair gracefully touched the corners of her shoulders, and her eyes, a mixture of blue and indigo had a glint of something in them. Happiness? Joy? Sora didn't know exactly how to phrase it, as it was something more then the simple emotions that he was able to list. Her small smile, despite being only a simple picture, brought a small smile to his face. Who was she? was she some model paid to pose for the school, or was this a picture of an actual student.

"Can I help you?"

Sora was caught off guard as he looked up, one of the ladies at the office was looking in his direction from the office, as if he was doing something wrong by standing there. Hoping that she was referencing someone else, he was disappointed as he looked around and saw that apart from a group of teenagers (who were also looking at him) he was the only one there. Pocketing the pamphlet, he walked over to the office, and said quietly, "I'm Sora Strife, I was told that i should come here first by my dad,"

Typing something into the computer, the lady got up and walked over to a file cabinet. She opened it as her hands shuffled through the papers all in the file until she pulled out one, where Sora could just make out _'Strife, Sora'_ . Opening it up, she withdrew its contents and placed the file back, walking over to Sora.

"Here is your map of the school and your class schedule," She handed it to Sora, and before he could utter a word of thanks, she was back on her computer typing something in.

Nodding his head, Sora moved away to let other people get too the office, as he took a glance at his Schedule, which had been neatly set out to let him know the subjects easily. 6 periods, hour lunch between 4 and 5, simple enough. What wasn't simple was the map he had been given.

The map in question was minuscule and made absolutely no sense to him whatsoever. He checked over his schedule, and according to it he had an English class at 8:30, exactly 5 minutes away. Stuffing the schedule back into his bag, he concentrated on the map and made his way left, walking down a hallway filled with lockers and the occasional classroom. It did not take Sora long before he realized that he was thoroughly lost, the map completely useless too him.

As he rounded a corner, his head buried into the map, and not looking where he was going, Sora felt a person a lot smaller then himself bump into him. Being the big guy that he was, he was only knocked off balance a little bit. The same could not be said for the person that he had knocked into, as their brunette head was now on the floor groaning in pain.

"Oh Yevon above I am so sorry, I didn't see where I was going, I am so sorry, I-" But Sora stopped talking as the person slowly got up and looked around, Sora instantly recognizing the person at once, "Selphie?"

A smile lit up on her face as she looked at who had run into her, and instantly that feeling of pain and small amounts of anger disappeared as she grinned, "Oh hello Sora, didn't expect to run into you today, or at least so early in the morning,"

_Of all the people in this school to run into, i chose one i've only barely met as apposed to a complete stranger _Sora wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing as Selphie looked over to see what he had been so interested in, and put two and two together as she let out a small chuckle, "Are you lost?"

Scratching the back of his head, he nodded as he looked around, knowing that he didn't have the type of luck to have the classroom he was looking for right next to him to cut the awkward conversation short, but Selphie, who Sora already knew was not one to let such a situation like this happen, asked, "What classroom were you looking for?"

"Ah, English room..." Sora reached into his bag as he took out the piece of paper, scanning over it for a room number as Selphie looked over the schedule and smiled, "Oh, i know where that room is, it's not too far, i'll show you,"

"Gre-" Sora was cut short as she took his hand and began to drag him towards the room. Sora hid most of his face behind his head, hoping that no one would be able to memorize his facial features from this embarrassing experience as Selphie lead him up a flight of stairs and in a matter of seconds were in a corridor.

"Here you go, Miss Blanchard's class," Selphie grinned as Sora nodded his head, "Thank you Selphie, glad i ran into you...sorry about that again,"

But Selphie merely waved it off, "Don't sweat, was an accident, listen I've gotta run, got sport, but i'll see you later hopefully," and Sora nodded his head as he opened the door and walked it, failing to see Selphie look at him in a strange manner, as if she had been almost checking him out.

The classroom was already occupied with a few students, who seemed to be busy about some sort of gathering that had happened the prior weekend, and seemed to busy to notice the chocolate-haired teenager who had just entered, so Sora took the opportunity to quickly make his way to one of the back seats in the corner where he hoped no one had already claimed as their own throughout the year, as the last thing Sora needed was an argument over a seating arrangement over his first day.

However, as the bell rang and many more students made their way into the classroom, they all took their seats, taking out their notebooks and pens, and then began talking to each other. Making his way towards his bag, he took out one of the brand new books he had placed in their, as well as a pen, and quickly scrawled _English _on the front of the book, before dropping the pen on his desk and lying back, hoping that his first lesson would not only be quick, but he could get through it without being noticed.

The door of the classroom soon opened, and a young woman entered. She looked as if she was only in her mid 20's, her short black hair and hazel eyes captivating as she smiled at the class. Placing her paper notes on her desk at the front, before she looked at the class.

"Good morning class," She said in a pleasant and happy voice, something that should not have existed that early in the morning. The class muttered something along the lines of a 'good morning' back and she nodded her head in happiness as she picked up a piece of paper on her desk, and began to read out the roll call of the morning. Sora didn't pay much attention to the names, as his thoughts went into overtime, realizing that the minute that she said his name, he would either be subjected to whispers and mutters, or this teacher would make him stand up and tell them all about himself.

"Strife, Sora?"

Instantly the whispers began, eyes began to wonder around until they reached the back corner, where Sora had straightened up and nervously looked up, noticing that every single person was looking directly at him. Clearing his throat, he slowly raised his hand and muttered a "Here,"

Their teacher smiled as she put down the list, Sora not sure if she was finished or if she had stopped for his benefit, "Seem's we have a new student in our class, welcome Sora, I'm Miss Blanchard, but you can call me Mary...why don't you tell us about yourself,"

Sora's eyes widened just a little as he gulped. Sora had never been much of a public speaker back at his old school, but to speak in front of a group of 20 or so strangers was something that frightened him completely. Sora could feel his hands, which he had balled into fists begin to shake ever so slightly as he began to feel anxious. He took in a deep breath, and as he did, an unnerving familiar situation began to over-come him.

_"You look pathetic,"_

The voice, the darkened voice entered every corner of his thoughts as it whispered to Sora. He tried to block it out, but when he wasn't thinking about the voice, he was thinking about everyone looking at him, _"You don't know any of these people, and you cannot even bring yourself to say who you are, what kind of teenager doesn't know how to talk about himself, you're an idiot,"_

Sora came very close to responding back to the voice, but he shook his head just a little bit as he looked towards his fist, concentrating as hard as he could to stop it shaking. As he relaxed his fingers, he could feel the voice lose its power as he returned back to reality, looking at everyone as he cleared his throat and began.

"Well...I'm Sora, i'm 17...I came from Edge, my dad moved us here for a newer scenery...and that's pretty much it," Sora said in a soft voice as he sat down again. Most of the people turning back to face Miss Blanchard, but some continued looking at Sora, having not heard too much about him for someone who was meant to be talking about himself.

Mary looked at the boy for a few moments before she stood up and shook her head, "I was hoping that you would be able to tell us a little bit more about yourself Sora..." Sora looked down, a little bit embarrassed and willing to do anything for it too end as quickly as possible.

"Mr. Strife, you seem to be a bit afraid of speeches, which won't get you too far in my classes seeing as I do give out a lot of assignments that involve reading out to the class...and seeing as i'm a believer in tackling your fear head on, by next lesson i would like you to write a 500 word essay about who you are to be read in front of the class, understand?"

Although this seemed completely unfair in the eyes of Sora, he wanted more then anything for the class to end, so nodding his head, he took the assignments without any complaints as he placed his head down and closed his eyes, wishing for the day to end.

"As for the rest of you, we will be continuing on with the novel you were given last tuesday, as you all remember we were looking through the perspective of..."

Sora sighed as he began to lose track of what Miss Blanchard was saying, he could not believe that he had earned an Assignment the very first lesson of class. He could sort of understand where she was coming from, but still, maybe a word of warning or even another chance to do it on his own, now on top of the Meditation that he knew his father would make him do, he had homework...how much more he was going to get throughout the day was another story entirely.

The bell soon rang as everyone packed up their books and quickly headed off towards their class, Sora soon realized it was himself and Miss Blanchard alone in the room. Sighing, he stood up as he consulted his schedule, which told him he had a music lesson at that moment. Rather then going through the agony of reading through his map, he decided to approach it a different way.

"Miss Blanchard?" Sora asked, and the teacher looked up with an answer already on her lips...though not the answer to the question he had.

"Yes Mr. Strife, it has to be 500 words, and i will not take any form of apologies or bribes instead,"  
"No, that's not it," Sora shook his head, "I've got a music lesson and i'm not sure where the class is, it's a Mr..." Sora looked at the schedule as he found the teachers name and read, "Mr. David James Nolan...do you know where that is?"

For a moment, Sora could have sworn that a small blush appeared over Miss Blanchard's face, but she nodded her head as she said, "It's in Staff Building, downstairs," She said softly and Sora rose an eyebrow as he nodded his head, "Thank you," and stuffed the already scrunched up schedule in his bag before making his way to leave the room, before he was stopped.

"Sora..." Mary walked towards the teenager as Sora turned around, "You may believe that I was being harsh on you, but if I don't place you out of your comfort zone as soon as possible, then you might find yourself living in it...and that is a terrible way to live your life, no matter what anyone tells you,"

Sora nodded his head as he responded, "I know you're only trying to help me Miss Blanchard, thank you," and he turned around and walked out of the room. Sora made his way through the building and down the stairs, eventually finding his way out of the building and into the grounds. Although Sora was already late, he stopped for a moment to take in what he was seeing.

The Three rectangular buildings were all shaped in a Triangle motion, where a large amount of concrete ground was in between them, with picnic tables where people could sit down and do their homework, or continue on conversations they had started in their lessons. Sora looked up too see the two buildings ahead of him were connected with pathways on the second story with the walls and roof made of glass, where Sora could see people making their way to class through the pathway. Each of the buildings had a name on it, which Sora could not make sense of. The one he had exited had _Sword _Written on it, the building across from him had _Shield _and the one to the right of it had _Staff _on it. In between the Shield and Sword Buildings was a small cathedral like area with glass walls that Sora instantly recognized was the Cafeteria. Beyond the buildings was a field where Sora could see more picnic benches, as well as two concrete paths leading towards two buildings, one which looked like a Library, while the other was a stadium of sorts, which Sora assumed was where sports events took place.

Sora marveled at this for a moment, before he realized that he had been standing out there for so long that most students had already either made their way towards their own classes, or those who had their free period laying their work sheets over the benches. Sora took off towards the Staff building, opening the doors and running through them, hoping to find the classroom quickly before their teacher could get him into any trouble on his first day.

As he teared down the classrooms, trying to look through to see any of the classrooms that might have lesson in it, trying to ignore anyone who might try to distract him with things such as "no running in the hall," or "who are you?" Though one thing that he could not ignore was an extremely loud echo from the other end of the room.

"EXCUSE ME!" To which Sora skidded to a halt, almost hitting the lockers in front of him before he placed his arms out and merely bounced off of them as he slowly turned around to who had tried to get his attention.

The owner of the voice was a female, around about his age. Her hair, a dark auburn sat behind her ear and lightly touched the back of her neck, her eyes a mixture of Blue and Indigo were looking straight at Sora, and Sora looked at her, knowing that she looked extremely familiar. And suddenly it hit him.

She was the woman from the Pamphlet.

"You wouldn't happen to be Sora Strife would you?" She asked and Sora eyes widened a little more. How did this girl know his name?

"How did you guess?" He asked, Sora taking a look at her, and looked up and down at the purple shirt and black jeans she was wearing, along with the comfortable purple converse she was wearing.

"Well, Mr. Nolan said that i should keep a look out for a young man by the name of Sora Strife who looked lost and confused, and you seem to fit the description perfectly," The teenager smiled as she walked up to him, "I'm here to show you to the classroom,"

"Glad at least my predictable nature can get me noticed," Sora said and the woman let out a chuckle as she directed her head back from where she had come from, "Come on, before they send someone out to look for me," and the two began to walk.

"So, you know my name, what exactly is yours?" Sora asked and she looked back and smiled, "They call me Kairi,"

"Nice to meet you Kairi," Sora said, as they turned to face a classroom door that looked like every other one they had seen. Kairi knocked on the door, to which it opened.

"Miss Farron, so glad you could find our wondering student," The voice belonged to a rather tall man, with dirty blonde hair and matching stubble around his cheeks and chin. His blue eyes were directed at Sora, Who nodded his head as he said, "Sorry, I got lost,"

Realizing how lamely he sounded, he silently walked it, followed by Kairi, as she walked past the teen and took her seat. Sora quickly glided his eyes over the remaining seats, but found that the only one that was there was the one conveniently next to Kairi.

"I hope you can take a seat soon Mr. Strife, I would hate to continue this lesson any time soon," Mr. Nolan said slowly, and Sora nodded his apologies as he quickly made his way towards his desk, slowly sitting down as he took out his books and pens, beginning to scrawl _Music_ onto his book before he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Looking towards the source, he found it to be none other then Kairi.

"Don't worry, he's like that to everyone," She smiled, and Sora looked at her before muttering, "A regular Prince Charming isn't he," to which Kairi let out a small laugh.

"Do I hear something other then pens on paper?" Mr. Nolan stated, and Sora and Kairi both opened their pages as they began to write out whatever was on the board, Sora not paying too much attention as he was more a practical person more then a theory one.

Sora didn't know how long they had spent writing, as it felt like hours. However, eventually Nolan placed his maker pen on his desk and turned to the class, "Now, once everyone has copied out what i have written down, you can chat amongst yourselves until the bell goes,"

Sora finished writing out the last bit of writing, something about rhythm in everything, before he placed his pen down and sighed, glad that he had finally finished as he looked over to Kairi.

"Yevon, you certainly took a long time to write that out," Kairi muttered, to which Sora responded, "Hey, you caught me, i'm not that great of a writer," and they both laughed and soon found themselves in silence. Not sure how to continue the conversation, Sora placed his hand into his pocket, his fingers brushing against the piece of paper in them, and suddenly remembered the pamphlet.  
"Hey, i don't mean to sound rude, but is this you?" Sora withdrew the paper and handed it too her, Kairi instantly groaning and hitting her head on the table, "I am so sick of seeing these,"

Sora instantly felt bad for what he had done and said, "I'm sorry, i was just cur-"

"No, no it's fine, the school wanted a 'representative' of each subject for their Pamphlet project, and they got a good photo of me during one of the school dances...since then i've had all my friends and teachers grabbing them and getting me to sign them treating me like i'm famous...It is highly annoying i've got to say,"  
Sora looked at the girl before him, before he chuckled at her. Kairi looked at him strangely and said, "What?"

"Nothing nothing, just...i don't know a lot of people who would think negative for attention," Sora said as Kairi looked at him and responded, "Let's just say i'm not one of those people who go out to look for attention for themselves,"

"Well that's clear," Sora said, and Kairi smiled at him as they both heard the sound of the bell go off.

"Well, i've got History now...what do you have?" Kairi asked, and Sora sighed as he dove once again into his bag to get out his schedule, "Maths...do you know where that is?"

"Yeah, it's over in Sword Building, towards the front of the school, one of the first classrooms in the second corridor, whose your teacher?" and Sora looked at the name associated with the class, "Jefferson Hightopp," and Sora looked up to see Kairi wide eyed and looking a bit fearful.

"...what?" Sora asked, and Kairi snapped out as she gave him a not-so-reassuring smile, "Nothing, nothing...just...have fun," and Kairi made her way out of the room, stopping as she was about to leave, and turning around with a smile, this one genuine, "It was nice to meet you Sora...see you around," and she turned and exited the classroom.

Sora just stood where he was for a moment, a look of surprise on his face, before a small smile appeared on his face, and for the first time in a very long time, he didn't feel a slight bit of anxiety or fear, rather he felt happy.

For the first time in a very long time, he felt like a normal person.

**_x_**

**_Song: _**_Another me - The Cab._

**So, which one of my lovely fans noticed the Once Upon a Time references to the Disney Characters. Don't worry, they'll all have reference to their disney counterpart, and if you're knowledgeable about OUaT, then you should be able to get it almost straight away.**

**So, for the past days i've pretty much been going out and partying, but in between that i tried to create a map of the school...that failed pretty quickly, so, burning the ideas (litterally) i decided to go off map, and just create it in my mind...which actually worked out pretty well for me, i hope it's not too confusing for you guys.**

**Now for a thank you too **Steph, DestinyKeyblader28, Keyblades of Oblivion, Ash09, EthanFlux and KeybladeMosstar, **I love all you guys, and everyone whose subscribed to the story, but if you're new, give me a little review, i wanna know the people behind the graphs which say you're reading them, and id get to love even more people.**

**Might start writing chapter three later tonight, depends if i have the motivation. Regardless, check my homepage for updates, and if you have any questions, ask in the reviews or PM me, im always happy to talk to people who take the time to read my stuff.**

**Until next time, take care and much love**

**Jared Someone.**


	4. The First Day: Part II

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_III_**

**_x_**

_Twilight Heights High School_

_Destiny Islands_

_Present Day._

**_X_**

Sora stepped out of the Music room, noticing that there were quite a few people taking a while to get to their next class, and was glad that he knew that he would not be the only person that would be late to his class. Having given up completely on the map, he left it in his room as he made his way towards Sword Building, still a little bit confused as to why they were named after weapons, and determining to find out later. However, this wasn't the only thing that he was thinking about.

As the sun hit his skin as he exited the building, his mind suddenly returned to Kairi, the girl who he had met in his music class. He had been trying to read something about her, but all he had managed to gather was that she was unexpected. Although she looked like a girl who couldn't care about what other people thought of her, she was still embarrassed by attention, showing that she did in fact care a little. She seemed to have a mixture of a loud woman, but could swap to someone quiet and friendly almost in an instant. As he moved into the Sword Building, he secretly hoped that he would run into Kairi once again.

As Sora walked down the hallway, looking around, he realized that although he had found the maths area, he still had no idea where exactly he was. Hoping that he could find someone, he sighed in disappointment as he realized that almost everyone had managed to make their way into their own classrooms.

"Lost?" Sora heard the voice of a young woman, making him turn around.

The owner of the voice was a girl around his age. Sora instantly took note of the Tight black jeans she was wearing, along with white shirt and small black jacket, which had a few dress rips and tears to match the ones in her jeans, and the sleeves rolled up to just above her elbows.. Although they seemed tacky, Sora couldn't help but notice that they matched similar clothing he had once seen in a stall, and knew they were Heartilly Brand of clothing, expensive as anything. Whoever this girl was, there was two things he already knew about her; She had money, and she didn't care.

Sora soon turned to her features, her short black hair, her blue eyes, and a small smile on her face as Sora soon realized that she was also observing him, and what he could only assume was making a guess as to who he was and what he was doing there. When it appeared that the answer was not going to be given through his eyes, she spoke once again.

"When i heard that there was a lost new students making his way through the halls of Twilight Heights High, i told myself i'd have to see this for myself..." She made her way up to Sora, looking into his eyes with a smile on her face, "...and let me tell you, I like what i see,"

Sora could feel his face heating up a little, but did not show the tiniest blush on his face as he said, "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm very interested," The girl winked as she held a hand out, "But my friends call me Xion,"

Sora could not believe the boldness of this woman, but none-the-less he took her hand and replied, "Sora Strife,"

"You scored all of the luck, including a good name," Xion said as she held onto his hand a little longer, before letting it slide away as she leaned against the wall, "So, which class did you find yourself going to?"

It took Sora a moment to respond, Xion was indeed a gorgeous young teenager, and Sora could not help but stare a little at her, before he shook his head and said, "I've got double maths, with...uh, Mr. Jefferson Tarrant Hightopp,"

Xion's eyes widened just a little as she scoffed, "Wow, bad luck for you," to which Sora gave her a questionable look, "What do you mean?"

She smiled as she turned away and said, "You'll find out when you go in there," Although suddenly she stopped, and turned around, the smile now turned into a sneaky grin, "...or maybe not," Sora raised an eyebrow as he asked, "What?"

"Im thinking of taking a trip out of the school, maybe go for a walk, if you wanted to join me to talk about stuff...or whatever," She smiled at the teenager, leaning against the locker and looking directly into his eyes.

For a moment Sora was tempted to skip class, the girl in front of him was clearly interested in talking, and Sora was all up for having a conversation, wherever it went. But as his thoughts were turning through the possibility of skipping the maths class, his realized that this was the first day at the school, and that he should at least respect his fathers wishes of at least staying out of trouble for at least the first day.

"Tempting as that offer sounds, i think i might pass...I should at least know who all my teachers are before skipping school, so i know who to avoid later on," Sora stated, and Xion, although looking a little disappointed, shrugged and said, "Your loss newbie," before turning around and walking away, but stopping just before Sora could leave and said, "Just so you know, his classroom is that one," Pointing to a door near Sora, and ending with, "See you around cutie," Before she walked off, Sora watching her from the other end of the corridor as she turned and was soon out of sight.

Shaking his head with a small smile on his face, he entered the classroom, thankful that the room still did not contain a teacher and quickly found a seat in the back corner, dumping his stuff and quickly scrawling _Maths_ on his book before he fell into his seat and waited for his teacher. When it became apparent that he wasn't coming in any time soon, Sora placed his head onto his desk and closed his eyes, relying on the sound of the door and his new teachers voice to be his alarm clock. It wasn't long before Sora heard the sound of the door opening, and a voice saying, "Hello students," Sora slowly opened his eyes and focused on the teacher, and almost jumped back in surprise.

His teacher was a tall man, short brown hair and deep brown eyes, but it was what he was wearing that caused him to jump back. A patched up top hat that looked like it had been stepped on and destroyed, a long brown coat, a multi-colored vest with a bright bow tie, scruffy pants and brown heel boots, all which looked like they had been picked up from the ground. As Sora took note of his face, he realized that he had not only a small look of delusion on his face, but also the fact that he was smiling more then anyone should for a monday in a maths lesson. What was even more surprising as Sora looked around was that nobody was questioning why he was dressed like this, as if this man dressed completely mad was a normal occurrence.

"Today we shall be looking over Graphs, specifically how to-" The man began, but stopped, as his eyes widened directly starring at Sora's general direction, and as he continued staring until he had everyone doing it, the idea of skipping class with Xion suddenly seemed not only like the most logical, but also the most sane thing to do.

Suddenly, the man began to walk towards Sora, directly following the line of sight, not allowing the desks to get in his way as he stepped on top of them, balancing himself as he stepped from one desk to another, crushing peoples books as he did, until he was right near Sora. Jumping down, he took one of the spare seats next to him and sat down, staring directly at the teenager. Sora did not know what to do, but sit there until the man spoke, in a small hushed voice, "Who are you,"

"...Sora, Sora Strife," Sora said, uncertainty all in his voice and could feel the eyes of the twenty or so teenagers staring at him, some laughing at his situation while others wondering what would happen next.

"What are you doing in my classroom?" The deranged looking man asked, and Sora took a moment to respond, "...i-i'm in your maths class,"

The man looked at him for a moment, before he slowly leaned forward, until his nose was softly touching his, and his eyes focusing directly on the teenager. Was this man about to kiss him? No, his eyes had something else in them, not romance, but rather...hope? and then, just as softly as he had asked the last two questions, he whispered a question.

"...Do you have any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?"

Sora could not believe what he had just heard. He felt like asking anyone a few questions of his own, like was this man insane? or a better question, what the heck had a raven or a writing desk have to do with maths? However, too confused and surprised to say anything, he just shook his head.

The hope in the mans eyes died, and he turned around and walked back to the front of his class as if nothing had happened, like he had asked a simple maths question and had been given the wrong answer. Sora's eyes were widened, he had no idea what was going on, and could barely hear what the teacher was saying, the confusion had made him deaf, and the still lasting effects of the surprise ran through his system, not having heard a single thing that was going on, more just stuck in his world, not letting a single bit of information get into his brain, be it the maths he was meant to be learning, or the time that he was meant to be watching. Only one thing managed to break him out of his trance, and that was a very familiar voice.

"Sora?"

Sora's eyes blinked as he focused on what was happening. For one thing, the entire classroom was completely empty, save for Sora, who still had his work out and pencil in hand. But as he shook his head, he realized that there was another person in the room, a familiar person from his music class.

"Kairi?" Sora said weakly, before he shook his head once again, and reality returned, "I didn't know you were in this class?"

Kairi let out a chuckle as she shook her head, "I'm not, i was walking past and saw that you were still here, the bell's only just gone and i would have thought you would have left by now," What Kairi had just said confused him a little bit less then the Maths lesson he had just had, but as he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone, his eyes widened in shock. He had been out of it for the entire hour and a half.

"That insane teacher put me out of it for the entire class!?" Sora freaked, and Kairi gave a look of concern, before she sighed in understanding, "Oh right, you just had maths, yeah that can do that to a person whose never met Mr. Hightopp, come on, it's best to get some food into you," and Kairi grabbed his arm and helped him up as the two began to walk out of the room, Sora still a little confused, and it took him until they had walked outside before he was actually getting his strength back enough to walk.

"Where are we going?" Sora asked, and Kairi looked at him with a look that told him he should already know where they were going, "I don't know how they did it in your old school Sora, but here we're known for having Lunch at the cafeteria," and with help, Kairi led him towards the glass like building, before opening the door and allowing them inside.

The Cafeteria reminded Sora of his own back in the school he went to in Edge, most of the tables were in small rows where groups of kids could hang out and have lunch, but more importantly relax from an already tough day. Towards the back, teens with money could get an assortment of food, while others who had brought food from home were able to quickly eat their lunch without having to worry about lining up. The number one difference was that the glassed area allowed them to have a perfect look not only at the concreted area of other teenagers that were walking around, but also be able to spot their friends from far away.

Sora barely heard the sounds of other people calling Kairi's name until they were close enough to be able to make out the difference between their voices and the voices of every other student that was there. Kairi helped Sora sit down, and when he was comfortable, Sora looked up to realize that they were not alone.

On the other side of the table sat three teenagers, two rather tall guys while the third was around his hight sitting in the middle. All dressed casually, they stared at Sora as if he was something different, something strange that did not belong in the cafeteria, or anywhere near the school.

"Yevon above Kairi, where did you find him?" Sora looked towards the voice of this teenager, he sounded extremely confident in himself. His bright flame-red hair slightly gelled back, allowing the spiky bangs to stick out from the back of his head, and his green eyes looked between Kairi and Sora, to which Kairi responded, "Give him a break _Lea_, he just came out of his first lesson with Hatter...on a monday,"

All three teens 'oh'ed' in understanding the way Kairi had when she had found Sora in the classroom and their reactions changed from 'what the hell' to 'we understand'

"Well that certainly explains his zombie-appearance," This voice belonged to the second taller teen, who like the boy Kairi had referred to as Lea had long spiky hair, though his was silver instead of red. Sora took note of the fact that although he was wearing clothing almost as casual as the others, his jacket looked like it was from the school, looking like a sports jacket with an emblem on the front of a shield with a star-shape in the middle, "No hard feelings man, we just thought Kairi had taken up picking up strays from the street, call me Riku, and the kind teenager over there is Lea,"

The red-head teen growled as he said, "That's Axel, got it memorized?" To which Riku rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Sora, "Right, he likes to be called Axel,"

Sora nodded his head, "Nice to meet you, I'm Sora," before turning his attention to the boy in the middle.

Around his height, the boy had short messy blonde hair which looked a little less spiky then the others. His blue eyes were currently giving him the same look the others had before Kairi had explained the reason behind his state. They were giving him a look of curiosity, but also weary of who Sora was. Sora looked away for a moment, before Axel slapped the boy's back and grinned, "Don't mind Roxas, he always gets that way when he meets a good looking guy,"

The sexuality joke instantly broke Roxas as he turned to his friend, "Why were you looking at Sora like that Axel, are you trying to finally come out of the closet?"

"Mate, the only reason I would even enter the closet would be to get you out of your home," Axel retorted, as Kairi rolled her eyes and turned to Sora.

"Don't mind them, they always have this kind of sexual tension," To which both boys turned and shouted, "We do not!"

Sora looked stunned at this friendship, and could not help but let out a small chuckle, "Oh great, now you've got the new kid laughing at us!" Axel muttered as he leaned back into his seat and began to eat the chips on his plate. Kairi looked at the plate for a moment, before reaching over to grab one. Unfortunately, Axel's hand was too fast as he slapped the chip out of her hand and let it fall back on the plate. Grumbling, Kairi got up and said, "I'll just go grab my own food then," Before making her way towards the rather large line that was forming near the food area.

As they watched Kairi line up, Riku turned to Sora, "So, you a sportsman Sora?" Thrown off by the question, Sora shook his head, Riku slouched down, clearly disappointed that Sora was not a sportsman like himself. However, he soon let that pass as Sora asked, "So, what's the deal with Mr. Hightopp, did the school start employing psych-o's or..." Sora stopped as he noticed the three suddenly began laughing their heads off and shaking them after a while.

"You see, when Hatter first came to the school, he realized that anyone in their right mind did not like maths, especially so early in the week, so he decided to mix it up during the maths classes, so that while everyone still learns, they have fun with it as well," Riku finished explain as he took a drink of water.

"Personally i'm surprised that they even continue to allow him to teach at all," Axel muttered as he took the last bite out of his chips and stood up, taking his plate with him, "Well everybody, i would love to stay here and chat, but i have got more interesting things to do then to sit around talking about school,"

"Which is?" Roxas asked skeptically, to which Axel winked and said, "Sleeping in school," and with that he had placed his tray on one of the many smaller tables that housed other dirty trays, and made his way out of the building.

"Looks like he's heading towards Staff Building," Riku muttered, and Roxas smirked, "What? Does he think the drama room's going to let him take a nap in there again?" as he took a bite out of his sandwich, the building name another reminder of something that had been curious to Sora.

"Hey, whats with the names of the buildings? _Sword, Shield and Staff_?" And Roxas this time was the one to answer Sora's curiosity, "The names come from medieval times, they were the weapons of choice in mythology, and our Headmaster is a bit of a history freak...have you met him yet?" Sora shook his head, before asking, "What's he like?"

Both Roxas and Riku shrugged, Riku saying, "He's alright, i've seen worse headmasters, he can just be a bit weird...but with a name like Arthur Merlin, you'd have to be a little crazy,"

Sora was about to nod his head, when Roxas turned and said, "Wow, nice to call the headmaster crazy Riku, you weren't calling him that when he decided not to expel you from the struggle team when you started that fight from the student at Departure Academy,"

"Hey, he had it coming, calling us the _Poupu Pansy's_, nobody insults our team and gets away with it,"

Sora rolled his eyes and the two continued to argue, until the voice of someone Sora knew broke the hallways, and the eyes of everyone on their table, and a few on the other tables, gazed at her.

"So, how did you survive your first maths lesson?" Sora turned to see Xion walking up to them, with a smile on her face.

"You know you could have at least warned me that something like that was going to happen," Sora said with a smirk on his face, and Xion shrugged, "Must have slipped my mind...and if i had remembered, where would be the fun in telling you,"

"Xion, looking as good as ever," Riku smiled, and Xion showed his attention to the two other boys sitting there, "Riku and Roxas, but you seem to be missing a few in your group? where is the others,"

"Axel's sleeping somewhere in the Staff building, Kairi is getting lunch from what could be the largest lineup for food in history, and you know that-" But Roxas was cut short as Xion took a seat next to Sora, and smiled, clearly ignoring the teenager.

"Well, seems you survived with minimal psychological damage," Xion smiled, and Sora rolled his eyes, "Right, there was not a problem at all once he tired to kiss me,"

"What? oh right, yes he always gets excited when someone new might be able to answer his impossible riddle; _Do you know why a raven is like a writing desk?_," Xion was joined in by Riku and Roxas, who had heard the teachers riddle enough times to have it memorized by heart. Xion smiled at the two as she turned back to Sora, "So, Sora, do you have Recoded?"

Sora doubled back, not familiar with the phase, "uh, i'm sorry? what's Recoded?"

The three stared at Sora like he was a caveman who had just entered the 21st century, "You don't know what Recoded is?" Riku asked, and Sora shook his head.

"Oh, honey, it's a good thing your hot or otherwise i would be walking away from you right now," Xion muttered as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Recoded is a social networking site, created by one of those drop-out uni guys who went on to make millions developing something so simple,"

"Yeah, you can chat with friends, find out what people like, where they are, what they're doing, it's great...you're really telling me you've never heard of Recoded before?"

"Actually, now that you mention it, it does sound familiar, i think a couple of people at my old school were talking about it, but i never really got into posting personal information about myself onto the internet," Sora smirked as he removed the apple that was from his back and began to eat.

"You should get it man, a lot of parties and social events get planned through the site, and if you wanna be where the hotties at, you gotta go to the parties," Riku smirked, possibly at a good memory from the weekend before.

"Although, you wouldn't need that Sora," Xion winked as she got up, "Well, i've got some classes to run away from, catch you all later," Xion smiled at Sora and waved at the rest as she walked off, just passing by Kairi as she returned with a tray of food, sitting down next to Sora and sighing.

"Dear Yevon that line was long, i think i was in there for half my break," Kairi took a sandwich and began eating, before she pointed back at Xion, "So what was Xion doing?"

"Checking out the latest asset in school apparently," Riku pointed to Sora, and Sora looked her way before returning back to the others, "You mean she doesn't hang out with you guys?"

"Who, Xion Wise? She's more of a social butterfly, she'll jump from group to group, flirting with any guy around...it looks like your the fly in her web now," Kairi took a bite out of her sandwich.

"Wow, Kairi, are you having some unresolved feelings for Sora?" Roxas smirked, and Kairi scoffed, "Hardly, she can flirt with whoever she wants, does not bother me in the slightest,"

"You guys know i'm sitting right here," Sora sweat-dropped, as Kairi turned and rested her hand on his shoulder, "Sorry Sora, but i'm just warning you what type of girl she is,"

Sora shrugged, not really minding as the bell sounded for Fifth period, and Kairi groaned, "Oh man, i'm not even half way through my meal,"

"We can help with that," Roxas smiled to Riku deviously, and within seconds, the entire meal was gone, eaten by the two. Kairi sweat-dropped as she said, "Gee, thanks guys," and with that took her plate and dumped it into the tray, before returning, "Come on Roxas, we've got science,"

"Oh man, i don't wanna go to science, Gold's our teacher," Roxas wined, and Kairi rose her eyebrow, "So, what else is new?"

"I mean it, that Beast is crazy, i might end up with no eyelashes again," He muttered, and Kairi sighed as she dragged a kicking and screaming Roxas out of the room, shouting, "See you later guys!"

"So, what have you got Sora?" Riku turned and asked, and Sora took out his schedule, glancing over it.

"I have got a...oh hey, i've got a free period," Sora let out a small smile in happiness, and Riku groaned, "New kid gets all the luck, i'm stuck in geography...oh well, good to meet you Sora, catch you later," And Riku picked up his bag as he walked out of the cafeteria.

Sora sat down as he looked around, many of the students still continuing to eat their meals or chat with each other. Sora was not sure what to do with himself. He could start on the speech for english that he had to do, or he could explore the school. Considering he would have time to write the speech when he was home, he decided to explore, telling himself that if he did not find his way around the crazy school soon, he would be relying on people to tell him where to go all of the time.

Sora chucked the remainder of his apple in the bin as he walked out of the cafeteria, his bag slung over his back. He noticed some of the students lying down with their papers all around them, while others were just lying down to take a nap. Sora wasn't sure where he should go first, but the glint of the Staff building made him curious. He had only been in there for a short time, but he felt like exploring that place, to see what he could find.

Making his way over, he crossed through the halls, wondering where he should go first. Peering in through the classrooms, he could see several students learning, acting, making music, or creating art. As he made his way upstairs, he found more doors, though these ones seemed to lead to studios, stages, and even to a few dark rooms one could use for photography. As Sora looked, he could see some of the students acting, while others were playing music. He suddenly found nervousness climbing through his body; as a music student, he would eventually have to stand up in front of people, and the idea of doing that was not something that made him jump for joy.

Putting it out of his mind, he walked over to another door, and found it locked. Peering into the small window, he noticed that it looked like an art studio, where all he could see were a couple of drawing and paintings hanging up. Wanting a better look, Sora looked around to make sure that no one else was in the corridor, before he withdrew his picks and bent down, slowly listening for the 'click' sound that came a few moments later. Smiling, he placed them into his pocket and slowly opened the door, slipping through as he softly closed the door.

When he turned around, he stood in awe at what he saw. Around them were hundreds of photos, paintings, drawings, sculptures, all different types of artwork around. Sora stared closely at one of the sketches, it was a group of small children, all laughing and arm in arm. The sketch was done extremely well, Sora could not only see all the emotions on the page, but in a way he could also feel those emotions bursting through the canvas. It made him share a small smile.

"Excuse me?"

Sora was startled by the voice, and spun around, expecting a teacher or an adult to be looking back at him. It was neither, instead a young girl was looking at him. Blonde hair that covered half her face, the other half tucked behind her ear. Her blue eyes were looking directly at him. Although she was wearing a pair of Jeans and a white t-shirt, she was wearing baggy tent like t-shirt covered in paint, and was looking at him with a mixture of fright and curiosity.

"I'm sorry, i didn't know anyone was in here," Sora was a tiny bit embarrassed, as he made for the door, but stopped as he looked at another picture, this one of two girls hugging each other and laughing at something mysterious, and like the other painting, this one somehow released an emotion of happiness and joy.

"How did you get in here? I thought i locked the door," The girl asked as she moved a little closer towards him, curiosity on her face, and Sora shuffled his feet, looking towards the door and back again as he withdrew the picks from his pocket and held them out, "I've always been good with locks and keyholes..."

The awkward silence was unbearable for Sora, as he scratched the back of his head and pocketed his tools, before making his way to the door, "I'm sorry that i interrupted you, but these are really good...i think i'll just leave you to yo-"

"No wait!" The girl made to stop him, before backing away, scratching her head as she held it down, but had successfully caused Sora to stop moving and look back, "I'm Namine Lockhart," The girl still had her head down, but Sora was interested to see her call him back, and was intrigued.

"Sora Strife," He nodded back, and Namine looked up at him, not just at his eyes, or his nose, or one specific part of his body, but all over, not as if she was checking him out, more if he was being studied by her.

"You have a good bone structure, though it seems a little tough, might be a challenge to sculpt you, maybe if i had a bit of time to sketch you i might be able to-" Namine stopped as she realized what she was doing, and stopped talking as she made her way over to the sketch board were she was currently working on the scenery of a beach.

Sora walked up to her, and let out a small chuckle as he asked, "What was all that about?" and Namine grew red once again as she continued to concentrate on her drawing, muttering, "Sorry, I do this thing where i start to sketch someone in my mind and i'm used to being alone, so i sort of talk out loud and...yeah," Namine ended lamely as her strokes began to get a little quicker, before she let out a small sigh and continued painting. Sora looked over her shoulder and was amazed at what she was doing, "That is really amazing Namine," to which she allowed a blush to form over her face as she said, "Thank you Sora,"

Suddenly the bell rang, and Sora realized that his free period was up. Sighing, he nodded to Namine, and made to say goodbye, when something else caught his eye. A picture, hidden beyond the others. As he moved forward, Namine wondered where he was going, and placing down her brush and removing her baggy painters t-shirt to reveal the small white one she was wearing, she looked as Sora took out the photo to get a better look.

"I painted that a few weeks ago, it's of my friends, they go here actually," Namine said, and Sora nodded his head, "Yeah, i know...i met them at lunch,"

The picture in question was set out the front of what appeared to be some sort of coffee shop. From left to right Sora recognized Axel with a coffee in his hand, Roxas with blonde hair and a grin on his face, Namine next to him looking distant, Riku with his arm around both Namine and another girl, who Sora instantly realized was Kairi. Sora touched the place where Kairi was, as he dragged his hand, feeling that emotion of friendship, of togetherness, as if nothing could separate them at all.

"This is..." Sora began, lost in the awe of expressionless wonder, before he realized that he was late, and stuttering something that sounded like a complement, he took off, before coming back and poking his head through the door, "You wouldn't happen to know where Languages is?" Namine looked completely shocked at him, before nodding her head and said, "Yeah, sword building second story,"

"Thanks Namine," Sora said graciously, and he turned and ran, making his way through students and teachers alike, until he had crossed the grounds, into sword building and up the stairs, until he had finally reached the Languages area, looking through his Schedule, he noticed that the room that he was looking for was right in front of him. Glad that he had found it before the teacher had arrived, he walked in and made his way to the back of the classroom, like he had done with every class.

Sitting down, he took out his books, and waited for the teacher to arrive. However, before he had even gotten comfortable in his chair, he suddenly heard the person next to him say his name, "Sora?" To which Sora turned around, and noticed that it was none other the Roxas, the young teenager he had met at lunch.

"Roxas? I didn't know you were in this class," Sora said surprised, and Roxas responded with a smile "Yeah, i've been taking it for about years now,"

"Well, at least i'll be able to go through this lesson knowing someone," Sora smiled as he looked down to his paper, and realized that he had left the name of his subject off of his book, and made to reach for his pen, but knocked it off the table. Almost instantly, Roxas bent down and managed to catch the pen. He looked a little bit shocked as he held it out to Sora, who was shocked as he said, "Wow, nice reflexes," and reached for the pen.

As Sora took hold of the pen, a small amount of his skin brushed against Roxas, and instantly he felt a spark of pain travel from his hand through his body. Sora flinched a little, used to pain, but Sora watched as Roxas pulled his hand back, letting out a small shock of pain as he grabbed his hand. Sora's eyes widened as he let a small cough, and quickly said, "static, huh?"

Roxas rubbed his hand while he looked at Sora, and said "Yeah...static..." which made Sora feel extremely uncomfortable. It didn't help that many of the students were already looking at him weirdly, so he decided to make a split decision to get himself out of the area as soon as possible.

"Listen i'm not feeling all too good, can you cover for me, i'm going to go to the sick bay," Sora muttered as he packed his things into his bag, and Roxas nodded his head, and Sora quietly thanked him as he made his way towards the door, opening it as he exited the room.

As Roxas watched, he felt something again. Not pain, but something that Roxas could not put his finger on. Something that was connected to Sora, and he made a mental note to keep his eye on Sora...something about him was dangerous, all he needed was the pain in his hand, that had only now just gone away, to tell him that.

Sora pushed the doors open as he reached for his phone, pressing a contact before holding the phone up to his head, "Hey dad...yeah i wasn't feeling too well...yeah could you come pick me up...great, see you shortly," and placing the phone away, he made his way to the front of the school, where he saw another student waiting in front of the gate, another student who he was familiar with, a brunette haired loud teenager.

"Selphie?" Sora asked, and Selphie responded by turning around and smiling, "Hey Sora,"

"What are you doing out here?" He asked, and Selphie responded with a smile on her face, "I always have last period monday's off," and Sora nodded his head in responce. Selphie smiled and said, "So how was your first day?"

"Yeah, alright...been a big day, meeting new people, classes," Sora shrugged, and she smiled as she said, "Glad that you enjoyed your first day,"

"Yes, it was...interesting," Sora smiled, his mind already going through the day, and the people he had met, specifically three people; Namine, the quiet and isolated artist who could paint a world, Xion, the clearly wealthy woman who did not care about said wealth, and finally Kairi, the mysterious girl he could not put his finger on, the three ladies who had stood out amongst the sea of teachers and students that he had met on only his first day.

"Hey, Sora...I'm having this party, it's sort of this 'surviving the first week of school' and i was hoping that you would be able to make it?" She said, and Sora scratched the back of his head.

A party? He had never been invited to a party back in Edge, though this was mainly because he had kept himself isolated for fear of people finding out who he was. And now, after merely a week of living in Twilight, he was already being invited to a party. Different thoughts began to go through Sora's mind. Would he be able to control himself? What exactly would happen? Would he have fun, or would this turn out to be another bad idea?

As he focused on Selphie, he knew that she would be expecting some sort of answer right then and there, so he smiled and said, "I'll definitely think about it," to which Selphie jumped a little and said simply, "Good,"

Sora smiled at the excited girl before them, before they both heard a horn, and Sora and Selphie turned to see a car pulling up, which Sora instantly recognized as his dads, "Well, i guess ill see you tomorrow," Sora smiled, and Selphie nodded her head, giving him a quick hug, catching Sora off guard before she let go, and smiled at him. Sora smiled back as he made his way towards the car, opening the door and getting inside the vehicle to a smug looking Cloud.

"So...who was that Sora?" Cloud asked as he smirked at his son, to which Sora responded, "A friend who i met today, can we go now?" and Cloud chuckled as he put the car into gear and began the drive back home.

"So, how was your first day of school Sora?" Cloud asked, and Sora nodded in response, "It was alright, met some new people, including some...interesting teachers," Sora chuckled, and Cloud smiled, "well, glad that it was good for you regardless,"

Sora nodded his head, as his thoughts went to all the new people that he had met, and all the fun they seemed. But then he thought of his life in Edge, and how it had all come to an end due to his condition. So as the car continued to travel back to their home, Sora nodded his head, making a decision, "Dad..." Sora began, and Cloud looked to his son, "Yeah Sora?"

"...I think i should start doing the meditation again," Sora muttered softly, and Cloud did not say a word, merely nodding at his son, knowing that he had done the right thing not only by himself, but by all the people he was hanging around, Cloud knew that Sora could control, he had the power to live like anyone else, but more then that, he had the right to live like a normal person.

**_x_**

**Hello wonderful people, hope you have enjoyed the second part of this two-parter, I actually had this completed last night, but it was so damn late that i almost passed out, and seeing that i had to get up early for work, i decided to wait until** **now to post this.**

**So, i'll keep this short, once again a huge thanks to **EthanFlux, Keyblades of Oblivion and DestinyKeyblader28 **For reviewing, and everyone who has subscribed and favorited, and hope that you continue reading and enjoying.**

**Love always**

**JS.**


	5. A Bully, An Orphan and a Mad Hatter

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_IV_**

**_x_**

_Strife Household._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

As the first bit of morning burst through the window of the Strife Household, Sora's eyes slowly began to open. As his disoriented face looked around, the boy wondered where he was, as it did not feel like his own bed. Sora looked down and noticed that he had fallen asleep at his desk, in fact, he had fallen asleep on his speech. As he stretched, Sora looked around his room, looking for the alarm clock, which did not take long for him to find. He groaned as he realized that it was only 6:30.

Returning back to his desk, he picked up his speech, wiping the little bit of drool that was on the paper as he read over it. It wasn't as long as 500 words, but there was nothing else he could talk about...not with the class of people he had met only yesterday. He folded the piece of paper and placed it into his bag, before moving onto his computer.

After the convincing conversation that Xion and Riku had given him the day before, Sora had spent the night setting up an account on the social networking site Recoded. It had been a bit confusing for him at first, but after the first hour, he had a basic understanding of how to work it. Sora logged onto his account, and looked at the number of people who had already accepted his friend requests. Searching through them, he smiled as he noticed a couple of people who had recently accepted him as a friend:

**_Riku Leonhart has accepted your friend request and written on your wall:  
_**_Yo Sora, glad you finally got Recoded._

**_Xion Wise has accepted your friend request and written on your wall:  
_**_No picture yet Sora? Disappointed :(_

**_Selphie Tilmitt has accepted your friends request and invited you to the event - Survived the first week of school party  
_**_Just so you know where the party is Sora ;)_

**_Lea "Axel" Valentine has accepted your friend request and written on your wall:  
_**_Who are you again? oh thats right, you're that kid i met at lunch..._

Sora chuckled at the people who had added him, before he looked over once again, and another name popped up, one that he was glad to see;

**_Kairi Farron has accepted your friend request._**

Although he was a little bit saddened that she hadn't written anything on the page, Sora didn't mind, and did what any normal person would do when someone allowed them to view their personal social networking page...and that was to stalk the hell out of it. Skimming through the photos, while paying close attention to a beach holiday Kairi had recently gone on, he moved on to her "Information" page, and began to read it.

**_Full Name: _**_Kairi Mémoire Farron_**_  
D.O.B: _**_19th August, 1993_**_  
Age: _**_19  
_**_Sex: _**_Female  
_**_Likes: _**_A great conversation, interesting people and fun times  
_**_Dislikes: _**_Fakes, liars, and people who cannot respect others for who they are.  
_**_Hobbies: _**_Singing, acting, dancing (not professionally, just for fun) _

Sora continued looking through her profile, and from what he gathered she was an action/romantic movie lover, a bit of an adventurer, and loved Sea-salt Ice cream and Poupu smoothies. The more he learnt about her, the more fascinated he was. She was a bundle of happiness, and didn't seem to have any sort of dark side...which was more then he could say about himself.

Glancing at the clock, he realized that he had been stalking her profile for almost half an hour. Turning the computer off, he hurried to take a shower and changed into an exact replica of what he had worn the previous day. Bounding down the stairs, he looked around, but realized that there was no one around. As he made to the kitchen, he looked on the bench and saw a piece of paper that Sora instantly recognized was Cloud's handwriting. He picked it up and began reading.

_Sora,_

_First off, good morning, I've gone into town to look at some jobs, sorry i didn't wake you but you seemed hard at work _("Jackass," Sora muttered) _Good news is that a bus picks up Twilight Heights High students just at the end of the road at ten to 8, i suggest you catch that, i managed to pick up a traveling pass as well as get you a locker at the school, all of that should be in your bag already, be home at 4 for meditation._

_Love, Dad._

Placing the bit of paper down, Sora took an apple from the fruit bowl and made his way up the stares, into his room and his bed, where his bag currently was. He opened it up and searched it, where he soon found a laminated piece of paper with his name on it and _student travel pass_ written clearly. Continuing to search through his bag, he managed to come across a key with the number _207 _written on it. Although he wondered why he need a key, it seemed Cloud had answered that as well as he soon found a small note with only two words on it; _Humor me_.

Chuckling, Sora placed it all back into his bag as he began to eat the piece of fruit, finishing it in a matter of minutes and chucking it into the bin that was conveniently placed underneath his desk. As he took his sPlayer and stuffed them into his bag, he looked at the time on his phone, which if correct was telling him he only had ten minutes before the bus was due to arrive. Finally managing to procure his wallet, he slipped it into his back pocket and ran down the stairs, making sure everything was locked securely before closing the door and walking out into the cold fresh air, making his way to the small bus shelter only a few minutes walk away from the house.

Sora didn't have to wake too long before he saw the bus slowly making his way towards them. Hoping to see someone he knew, he took a few steps onto the vehicle before he turned, and saw that there was nobody on the bus he was familiar with. Sighing, he reached into his bag and withdrew his pass, swiping it on the metal scanner, and the driver, a larger angry man, nodded his head and allowed him entrance.

From the moment that he had stepped on the bus, everyone there was giving him a weird look. Clearly Sora had not interacted with everyone at the school, or had even seen everyone there. So most of the students looked at Sora and wondered why he had gotten on the bus to Twilight Heights High. Keeping his head down, he slowly made his way towards an empty seat, but realized that there was no seat, so he decided to stand. Although he was trying to avoid conversation from anyone, it did not help when one of the students looked at him, and scoffed.

"Well well well, look who we have here," Sora looked up to see the student looking directly at him. Sora took note of the gelled back blonde hair, the cyan eyes starring right at Sora, and a smug look on his face. Sora tried to look away, to ignore the boy in front of him, but this proved ineffective as the boy continued to look at him, with a smirk on his face, "Haven't seen you around before...what's your name?" the boy asked and as Sora looked up, he noticed that they boy wasn't alone, but was standing with two other students. One a muscular looking man with short black hair, brown eyes and a sharp grin on his face, the other a young girl, shorter then the both with silver hair and brown eyes, both with the same looks of power on their faces.

"Look's like you found a mute Seifer, ya know?" the other boy laughed, and the girl just nodded in response, with a smile on her face. The boy called Seifer looked behind him and smirked with his friends as he turned back to Sora, "Doesn't matter whether he's a mute or not, just as long as he knows where he stands..." Seifer moved closer to Sora and pushed him, "...and he stands where everyone else does, behind us,"

Pushing him once again, Sora banged into one of the many poles that teenagers could hold onto while the bus made its way through the bumpy road, but right now it was being used to cause a large amount of pain in Sora's arm.

"So, i'll say again...what's your name?" Seifer asked, and Sora rubbed his arm as he muttered, "Sora,"

Seifer looked towards Sora, scoffing as he did as his two friends laughed, "Sora? What a ridiculous name," to which Sora looked up, and instantly began to feel the anxiety crawl through his bones. He tried to ignore the laughter from the three, but soon there was a fourth sound, the sound that scared him more then the laughter.

_"He is mocking you,"_

Sora began to feel sick, He could feel the stares of every student burning into the back of his head, and all he wanted to do was get off the bus and somewhere where he could be alone. But despite this, the students continued to scoff and laugh as Seifer continued, "What the hell is wrong with you new kid?" and pushed him once again into the pole. Sora grunted in pain as the voice in his head began to get louder.

_"What are you waiting for? Push back, fight back," _

Sora took a deep breath as he began to think of the meditation techniques Cloud had taught him. He could even hear his fathers voice, _Deep breaths Sora, concentrate on the control, and you will have it, if you concentrate on the voice, it will overpower you. _Sora took another deep breath, and closed his eyes. But this only caused him to be pushed back even harder, "Don't close your eyes on me, look at me when i'm talking to you," Seifer snarled as he got closer to Sora, and Sora could smell his fowl breath, trying not to cough in disgust.

"Respect," Sora looked at the girl who was apart of Seifer's little group, as she gave him a blank look, but even the simple look seemed to anger Seifer as he pushed him once again, this time bringing him to the ground.

Sora groaned as he could feel the voice, not not just a thought, but it was as if someone was standing right next to him, muttering into his ear, _"You could defeat this idiot easily, you'd be praised as a hero for knocking this kid out...go on, do it...you know you want to...Sora..._"

Sora gasped, not in pain, but in shock. Had his own thoughts just called him by name? were they his own thoughts though? or were they someone else's? As Sora looked to his hand, he realized that he had formed it into a fist, and it was shaking. It was as if his entire body wanted nothing more then to break this teenagers nose. Scrunching his eyes tight, he took a breath, and spent a few moments trying to lower his anxiety, as his fingers slowly uncurled from the fist shape into a flat hand, as he pushed it against the ground, allowing himself to get up, and rose to the height of Seifer.

Before he could say anything to the teenager, the bus stopped as he heard the bus driver cry out, "Everybody out!" Seifer along with his two friends scoffed Sora, before making their way out of the bus. Many of the students who had been laughing and watching made their way towards the school. But Sora just stood there, his breath slowly returning to a normal rhythm and the voice inside his head disappeared. He let out a small cough as he allowed a sharp breath to escape as he picked up his bag next to him and slowly made his way towards the exit of the bus, trying not to make eye contact with anyone there, though he could hear a few students laughing and exchanging greetings, he kept his head down as he crossed the entrance , until he had found his way towards the building, he found a wall around the corner that not many students were hanging around, and placed his hand against the wall.

For the first time since he had run into that bully Seifer, Sora could feel the beads of sweat that had gathered on his forehead. Wiping them off with the sleeve of his biker jacket, he let out a deep gasp, as if the thoughts in his head had done more to him. It was hard to explain, but Sora had genuinely felt pain for blocking out the voices. It was as if his entire body was punishing him for not following what his thoughts wanted him to do. Like they wanted to hurt someone, and if they could not hurt the bully, then they would take it out on Sora.

Once Sora could feel his heartbeat returning to normal, he resolved to find a bathroom quickly so he could wipe off some of the stress. He turned the corner, and keeping his head down and trying to avoid eye contact with anyone, Sora entered the building and looked around, looking for the bathroom. However, plans for this soon escaped his mind as he heard a voice, one that he did not recognize coming from the sound speakers around the school.

"Good morning students, welcome to a beautiful tuesday morning here at Twilight Heights High, a few announcements, first of all the Proud year drama students will be putting on a performance in the drama room thursday night entitled 'Wonderland; A Journey' Tickets are selling fast so get your butt to the office area to buy your ticket, thats Wonderland; A Journey, 7pm Thursday Night in the drama hall,"

"Also, for you struggle fans, try-outs will be opening within the next couple of weeks, news about that will follow shortly, but keep your eyes and ears open, and remember to listen here first for any news,"

"And finally, we appear to have a new student here, Twilight Heights High welcomes Sora Strife, and hopes that he is enjoying the start to a hopefully wonderful final year. If you know or see him, don't be shy, I bet he would love to be your friend,"  
Sora paused, confused. Was there another Sora Strife going to the school that he did not know about? Because he was pretty sure that there was nothing he wanted more then to be left alone by random strangers, and after the bus journey that he had experienced, he wanted this more then anything. Now, this mysterious announcer had ensured that every hyperactive and eager teenager throughout the school would make it their mission to come and talk to him, and the one thing Sora didn't need was publicity. He would be much happier to go through the entire school year remaining anonymous, but there was never a chance that would happen.

Sora groaned as he began to go his classroom, forgetting about the bathroom and concentrating on memories of the day before to reach his classroom, managing to find it just as the bell rang. Finding a seat in the corner, he was about ready to catch up on a few hours of sleep, before his brain reminded him as Miss Blanchard walked into the classroom that he was a few short minutes from reading out a speech. Any hopes that his teacher may have forgotten that Sora needed to read something out was instantly destroyed as Miss Blanchard cleared her throat to address the class.

"Sora, have you completed the assignment," Sora looked up, to see the class looking at her. Not answering her through his voice, he searched through his bag until he held out the scrunched up piece of paper out. Miss Blanchard nodded her head softly as Sora slowly got up, and shuffled his way slowly towards the front of the class. Once he had reached the front, staring at the board, he took a deep breath as he turned around, his teacher now behind Sora's desk looking at him along with the rest of the class. Sora felt the nerves starting again, but he took another breath and pushed it down as he began.

"Hello," Sora started off, making sure to look around briefly before returning his eyes back to the piece of paper, "My name is Sora Strife...i was born on the 14th March, 1994...at least that's what i have been told," whispers wondered throughout the classroom as to what Sora had meant by that. Taking a gulp and wetting his drying lips, he continued.

"I never knew my parents...i was an orphan, my first memory is being at..." Sora looked at the piece of paper, before continuing, "...Edge State Orphanage," He looked up once again, people were now starring at Sora as if he was the most interesting they had ever seen before.

"When i was 13 I was adopted by a man called Cloud Strife, who i have treated as my father since the day he adopted me," He said softly, as he put the paper down, and moved back to his seat.

By now the entire class was dead silent, the mysterious stranger they had all been introduced too yesterday was now even more mysterious. Most turned their head and looked at Sora, a mixture of pity, sadness and not-caring was throughout the entire audience which was their classroom. His hopes of going unnoticed throughout the year was now completely destroyed as he sank back into his chair.

Miss Blanchard returned back to her desk, clearing her throat before she continued, "Well, seems you have got something with talking in front of a class...however, seeing as it was not 500 words, i will have to make you a grade of C-...i hope you will be able to hold a longer conversation the next speech you have to write Sora," and Sora, thinking the barely passing grade was more then gracious, nodded his head, and Miss Blanchard continued the lesson.

As Sora removed his pen and books from his bag and tried to write down what his teacher was saying, something about a novel the others had been reading, he couldn't help but glance around to many of the students, half who were trying to concentrate on what their teacher was saying, but some were glancing back at Sora with small smiles on their faces, as if they were trying to start a conversation with Sora while not drawing attention from their teacher. Sora would give them a small smile back every once in a while, and found throughout the lesson that it was impossible to concentrate on his teacher when every other student was looking back at him.

As the bell ended their double English, Sora stood up and noticed that a couple of the students were looking at him as they packed their bags, as if they wanted to have a chat with Sora. Quickly, he exited the classroom, as he already was still having trouble with finding his way through the school, the last thing that he needed was to be distracted with a bunch of students and cause him to be late. When he had given himself a safe distance between himself and the students, he breathed out as he reached into his bag, trying to find his class schedule, when a voice broke through the muttering and walking of students.

"Well, if it isn't the Orphan of Twilight Heights High," Sora looked up at the female voice heading towards him, the short black hair instantly gave away who was talking to him, but he was confused even more so then he had been before. How had she known about the Orphan thing?

Xion looked at Sora with a smile on his face, possibly knowing why he was confused as she continued, "Recoded is currently going haywire with so many people from your class stating that you're some 'mysterious orphan'" Xion smiled as she leaned against one of the lockers looking at Sora.

"I walked out of that class about 2 minutes ago," Sora stated, and Xion smiled, "Thats social networking for you, the biggest secrets in the world can be out in mere seconds, and the bigger the secret, the more people will know about it," Sora rolled his eyes as he looked around, but Xion managed to get his attention again.

"Anyway, come on Strife, we have Double maths now...and we wouldn't want to disappoint anyone in your maths class now would we?" Xion grinned as she began walking towards the class, followed by Sora.

"So, you're actually going to the class this time?" Sora raised his eyes skeptically, and Xion just rolled hers, "Yes, contrary to your belief, i do like to go to class every now and again, keeps my teachers guessing," Xion winked as she opened the door, and allowed Sora entrance before walking in herself.

Taking note that their crazy maths teacher had still not arrived, Sora and Xion found seats in the back of the class, dumping their bags down they removed their books and pens and placed them on the desk before taking seats. They didn't have to wait long before they saw the door opening, and Sora prepared himself for the crazy outfit the teacher had warn the previous day.

However, Sora was again shocked beyond belief.

Was this the same teacher? The man looked the same height, same eyes, hair, but the insane crazy hat and matching clothing was now gone. Instead he was dressed in a smart looking suit and tie, shiny shoes and a Fedora sitting gracefully on its side, all pitch black. The man removed a toothpick that was sitting lazily on the side of his mouth, before he looked around and flicked it into the bin.

"Good morning class," He said in a calm manner, and Sora looked around. Just like yesterday, none of the students had a look of shock, or wonder as to why he was wearing what he was, but rather responded with a couple of lazy 'good mornings'. It took Sora a tiny bit of willpower to not stand up, point at the teacher and say, "What the hell?!"

"Something the matter?" Sora looked at Xion with confusion on his face, and noticed that she was looking at him with some worry, "Of course something is the matter, who is this guy? is he a twin brother of Mr. Hightopp? a distant cousin or other relative?"

This time is was Xion who gave him a confused look as he moved from Sora to the teacher, and back again, before she sighed quietly in understanding, "No, that's still Hatter...did no one explain it to you yesterday?"

"They said he dressed himself to make maths more fun," Sora said slowly, and Xion responded, "Well thats half the truth...you see, Hightopp likes to base his fashion on what type of hat he is wearing on the day, yesterday he was wearing an over-the-top top hat, and so he wore an assortment of ridiculous clothing to match it, today he is wearing a Fedora, so-"

"1930's Gaian Gangster..." Sora muttered slowly, and Xion nodded her head, "Why do you think we call him 'Hatter'" Xion sat back in her chair and began to take notes off the teacher, while Sora just slouched down in his chair, completely confused at the man before him, the man who could change not only his look, but also his complete attitude,

being able to change from a crazy, insane and intense man to someone who was calm and cool, how could someone 'act' that insane?

Sora jumped a tiny bit as the school bell rang letting him know double math was over and it was lunch time, this day was going completely quickly for him, and he had no idea why. Maybe it was the situation this morning, his thoughts taking a form of their own inside his head, calling him by his name. What had happened on the bus had never happened to him before in his life, and it scared Sora something fierce. Sora and Xion slowly rose and exited the room, Xion talking about something that Sora wasn't paying attention too, still thinking about what had happened on the bus, until he felt her tapping his shoulder and turned to face her.

"Sorry what?" Sora muttered softly, and Xion gave him a grin, "I asked if you were going to Selphie's party on friday?"

Sora scratched the back of his head, the second time that he had been asked the question of whether he was going to this party. Maybe he should go to the party, but again thoughts of what exactly would happen if he went to the party, which he knew would involve drinking, and Sora wasn't too sure how he would act after drinking. Sora had never been at a party, and therefore never had a reason to get drunk. What kind of drunk would he be? and how would his condition factor into his drunken escapades? Sora could not know.

Regardless, he shrugged his shoulders as they exited the Sword Building and made their way towards the cafeteria, "I dunno, maybe...i'm just the new kid, remember, maybe people don't want the new guy at the party,"

Xion chuckled as she said, "Sora, if Selphie didn't want you there, she wouldn't have invited you," And Sora had to give her that one, he wasn't much about thinking for a conversation at that moment.

"Besides..." She grinned as she stood on her toes and whispered, "...The new kid is always hot," and winked as she walked away, Sora couldn't help but notice Xion was walking away in a manner that many people were becoming greatly distracted, and Sora even witness one kid run into a pole after staring at Xion for too long. Rolling his eyes, Sora was about to make his way towards the Cafeteria when he noticed two people ahead of him, and let out a small smile as he made his way towards them.  
"Hey Riku! Roxas!" Sora called out, and a couple of students turned, wondering who was calling him, before they scoffed at Sora and continued walking. As Sora began walking towards them, he was not paying attention to the three people making their way towards him, until the person in the middle pushed him to the ground with a 'thud' and Sora groaned as he looked up.

As Sora adjusted his eyes to the sun, he realized the person in the middle as Seifer, the teenager from the bus, and his two friends behind him, Sora could feel the anger swelling up inside him, but stopped when he saw Riku and Roxas running towards him.

"Come on Orphan boy, get up and fight back," Seifer scoffed at him, and Sora was about to make a retort when Riku managed to reach them, "Lay off Seifer, go find someone else to annoy,"

"You shouldn't get into situations you cannot get out of Riku," Seifer growled, and Riku calmly responded back, "You should practice what you preach Seifer,"

Scoffing once again, Seifer turned and began to walk away, to which Riku turned to the two standing there, "Go follow your boss Rai! Fuu! before you make even more trouble for yourself,"

Before the two could even say a word back, Seifer said, "Come on guys, let's get going," and the three began making their way towards the cafeteria. Once they were gone, Roxas leaned forward to help him up, but stopped suddenly. Sora was almost certain that he was thinking about the last time he had handed Sora a pencil, and the sharp pain that had followed.

However, Riku did not notice this as he held his hand out, "You alright Sora?" He asked as Sora grabbed hold and pulled himself up, rubbing his arm as Riku let go and nodded, "Yeah fine..."  
"How did Seifer know you anyway?" Roxas asked, and Sora muttered, "He met me on the bus, tried to intimidate me,"

"Should have thrown a punch man, i recon you could have taken him," Riku said with confidence, and Sora couldn't help but think _Just a small problem with that..._

"Well, anyway, don't worry about it, i'm sure you'll be fine," Riku said as the two began walking, Sora keeping his head down as he noticed many of the students were scoffing at Sora for not being able to fight back, making him seem weak. It made him feel even more anxious then when Seifer had been bullying him, but Riku could not help but notice Sora's change caused by Seifer, and decided to speak up.

"Still having trouble fitting in?" He smiled, and Sora looked up, before looking away and sighing, "Yeah..." but Riku didn't let this get the better of him, as he slapped him on the back and smiled, "Don't worry, stories'll die down soon enough, and soon they'll be stating how great a struggle player you are,"

Sora looked at Riku with confusion plastered on his face, "I never said i could struggle?" and Riku nudged him as he smiled, "Of course you can, everyone can, and i bet you're great,"

Roxas just rolled his eyes, "Give it a rest Riku, not everyone wants to join the struggle team,"

"Of course they do, they just don't know it yet, and plus, why wouldn't you want to join the struggle team?" Riku asked, and Roxas gave him a small smile as he walked away, saying as he did, "Lot's of reasons Riku...lots of reasons,"

Waving the boy away, Riku took Sora around the neck and began to lead him towards the cafeteria, "Stick with me Sora, i'll not only make you a perfect Struggleman, but also a popular kid with the ladies hanging off you,"

Struggleman? Popular? Ladies hanging off of him? Sora certainly did not need that kind of attention at the moment, but despite what was Riku was saying, he knew he was trying to be friendly, and help him out. And even though he didn't know it, he already was by not reminding him of the early morning events.

Slipping out of Riku's arm, he said, "Well i don't know about all that, but if you're trying to tell me you want to be friends, i guess i can live with that..." Sora shared a smile at his friend, and Riku nudged him, "That's it...now, first we have to find you a babe," and Riku surveyed the class, and Sora let out a chuckle, before suddenly he felt a sharp pain hit his head.

"Argh!" Sora bent down and clutched his head, which was throbbing like anything. Riku looked to Sora, his happy expression gone and now replaced with one of worry and fear, "Is everything alright Sora?"

Sora took in a deep breath as he shook his head, "Fine, just...headache...i think i just need to find somewhere air-conditioned and relaxing,"

"Well, any one of the classrooms could be free, better yet the library is always air-con'ed...you sure you don't need to go home?" Riku asked, but Sora let out a small chuckle, "I think my dad would kill me if i skipped out on school two days in a row," and Riku nodded in understanding as Sora turned to leave.

As he stood watching Sora leaving the room, he gave him a look of concern. What was wrong with Sora, it was only his second day here. True that Hatter could scare anyone to states of unhealthiness if they were not prepared, but he was sure that the headache seemed to come a little to fast to Sora. As he shook his head and made his way to get some food, he made a mental note to look out for Sora, and to ensure that not only he fitted into the school, but he also felt like he wanted to be there.

"But first..." Riku smirked to himself as he looked towards a group of girls, "...to find him some ladies," and with that, Riku made his way over, keen to find out what the females of Twilight Heights High thought of him.

**_x_**

**So hello everyone, another updated chapter, reviews are starting to grow and make me so happy to continue writing. Sorry i've been away for a few days, i've had work on and work is quite a bitch, but in between everything else, i managed to get this chapter written.**

**I understand if not a lot of you liked this chapter, it basically concretes where everyone stands as well as bridges the gap between the previous chapter and the one that is coming up, which i promise will be quite exciting, as well as bring the humor that you have expected from Jared Someone stories.**

**Once again, i'd like to express much love to **DestinyKeyblader28, Keyblades of Oblivion, Random Reader 17 (**Please let me know who you are, i love all my fans and love to know who they are! xD**), EthanFlux, Stephlovessora and Kairiangel035 **As well as everyone who has subscribed and favorited, you guys are fantastic and id love to appreciate all the hidden people who stumble onto this story, please let me know who you are through reviews **

**Anyway, i'd best be off to rest. I recently got Super Mario Bros 2 on 3DS and am eager to play that xD but expect a new chapter soonish...i'm hoping in the next few days but don't quote me on that. Much love all!**

**JS.**


	6. A Night of Potions and Materia

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_V_**

**_x_**

_Twilight Heights High_

_Destiny Islands_

_Present Day_

**_x_**

The final bell rang through the courtyard as the doors instantly busted open to allow the teenagers to run out of the school as fast as they could. There was a reason for them to run away so quickly, as the day was Friday, and that meant that the weekend was coming up very quickly. A glorious two days in which they didn't need to worry about getting up for school, where they could chose to relax, go to the beach, or if they wanted to catch up on any work that they might have missed or desperately needed to get done before the next week of school.

Throughout the week, Sora had been slowly adjusting to the rhythm of Destiny Islands. Unlike his old school in Edge, he actually had someone to meet up with in most of his classes, or even a group of his friends. Even at lunch, Sora would feel that he was apart of a group, even if they spent most of the time laughing at memories that he was not apart of. Despite this, Riku had taken up the position of Sora's guide throughout the school, and would look after him. Though sometimes, Riku's tour of the school would try to lead him towards the stadium, where Riku would try to convince him why becoming a struggleman would be the best decision he ever made, But Sora would always tell him he wasn't a sportsman, and their conversations would usually leave with Riku going to train, or the bell ringing for their next class.

As the entrance of the school slowly began to thin, Both Sora and Riku stepped out into the sunlight, and took a deep breath as they did, smiling and making their way out of the school, "I cannot believe Gold issued an assignment due on the Tuesday," Sora muttered as they exit the school, and Riku responded as he winked at one of the girls passing by, "I told you he was a beast, did you see the way he looked at you when you couldn't answer the periodic table off by heart?"

"See it? I'm pretty sure the look he gave me will be burned into my brain for the rest of my life," the two laughed as the continued walking through the streets back to their respective homes.

Ever since the incident on the bus, Sora had decided not to catch the bus home, when he found out that Riku walked the same way back home that Sora did, he and Sora had spent most of their time talking, laughing, and in Riku's case, state how awesome struggle matches were. Although Sora had spent a lot of time with the others, he had developed a strong friendship with Riku, and the two had become great friends.

As they were laughing about their chemistry teacher and the insanity that followed him, they felt a presence walk up, and barely had time to react as a third person swung her arms around the two and grinned, "Don't you wait for me anymore?" And the two boys turned to see a familiar auburn haired girl smiling at them.

"Well Kairi, if you got out of class on the normal time like everyone else, you would be able to catch up to us," Riku retorted, and Kairi pouted as she responded, "You know that I have sport last on a Friday, I can't get changed and run to the front of the school just for you Riku," she stuck her tongue out.

"Why not? All the other girls seem to be able to do so," Sora chuckled, and Kairi lightly pushed him, "Look whose becoming bold, weren't you a quiet being once upon a time Sora?" And Sora shrugged as all three began to laugh.

"So Sora, you've been ambiguous as to whether you're going to Selphie's party tonight, and me and Riku think you should give us a straight answer right now," Kairi looked at him, and Sora rolled his eyes. It was true, throughout the week any time someone had asked him whether he would be going to the party he had muttered a 'maybe' and found his way away from the situation. The truth was that he honestly did not know whether it was a good idea. But as he looked from Kairi to Riku, he knew that both of them would not allow anything bad to happen to Sora, and that both would look after him.

So sighing in defeat, he said, "Sure, why not, I mean what's the worse that can happen?"

Riku and Kairi exchanged fake worried glances, before all three laughed once again, and they reached a fork in the road.

"Well, I have to get ready, I promised I'd supply a lot of the alcohol for the party," Riku smiled, and as they said goodbye, Sora shaking his friends hand while Kairi hugged him, he took off, leaving Sora and Kairi to walk alone, Kairi with a look of confusion on her face, which Sora did not fail to miss.

"Something the matter Kairi," Sora asked, and Kairi looked at him before saying, "Yeah...why is Riku going that way? It'd be a lot quicker to follow us and then move up further ahead,"

Sora gave a small laugh, thinking she was kidding, "but up ahead is that Mansion, Riku doesn't live there,"

But Kairi looked at him like he was crazy, "What are you talking about, of course he lives there," and Sora stopped in his tracks, "...Riku lives in that mansion?"

Kairi nodded her head slowly, "Yes, that's Heartilly Manor, he's lived there all his life," Sora's eyes widened, Heartilly Manor? But it couldn't be the same Heartilly...could it?

"You don't mean...Rinoa Heartilly?" And Kairi nodded her head slowly, "Rinoa Heartilly...Former fashion model now head of Heartilly Fashion, the largest Clothing company in Gaia?"

"Yes Sora, Rinoa is a Destiny Islander, always has been..." Sora's world had been totally turned upside down, his best friend was the son of one of the wealthiest women on the planet, Sora could do nothing more then just whistle. Trying to return humor back to the conversation, he chuckled, "So what's his dad, one of the models?"

"No of course not...his dad is the Director of SEED," and this comment made Sora stop dead in his tracks, his eyes widened.

"Wait...he's _that _Leonhart?" Sora said in awe and Kairi let out a laugh, "Leonhart isn't that much of a common name Sora,"

"No, but...His dad is-"

"Squall Leonhart, Director of the Secretly Educated Environmental Defenders," Kairi finished, and once again Sora whistled. SEED was considered one of the largest government groups, which specialized in foreign affairs that could disrupt the peace of Gaia. All SEED operatives were tough, highly trained and dangerous, and Riku's dad was the Director, he could not believe it.

"I wonder why he didn't tell me," Sora muttered, and Kairi let out another laugh, "Are you kidding? Telling the new kid his mum is wealthy and dad is in control of the largest government group known to mankind? I think that bit of information is a bit daunting, even to Riku himself," Kairi smiled as they reached a crossroads, "Well, I've got to get ready, see you at the party,"

"Yeah, see you then," Sora smiled, and went to shake Kairi's hand, but Kairi ignored that as she hugged him. Sora was a little bit shocked, but smiled as he hugged her back, before he could feel her pull away and let go. She gave him one last smile as she turned around and walked away. Sora couldn't help but watch after her, until she had turned a corner and was out of his sight.

Continuing to smile, he turned around and began walking home, his feet knowing how to take him home as his brain had other things on its mind. This was the first party that he would be going to, and he had no idea what to do. He didn't know whether he should try and bring alcohol or whether he should get some at the party. And then another thought crossed his mind; what sort of alcohol should he get? He hadn't tried a lot, only Potion once, and that had tasted a little bit like lemonade. But as he turned into his street, his thoughts once again turned to what type of drunk he would be, and more importantly, how his condition would change when he became drunk. As he found himself walking up the driveway, he decided that he wouldn't buy anything to drink, but would drink if someone offered it too him.

Opening the door, he turned and saw Cloud reading the newspaper with a smile on his face, as he turned to see his son walking in, he turned back to his newspaper and asked, "what's got you in such a good mood?" To which Sora shook his head, "Nothing in particular, how was your day?"

Cloud smiled as he placed the paper down and stood up, "Well, you are now looking at the newest delivery man for TwilightPost,"

Sora smiled as he walked over and shook his dad's hand, "Congratulations dad, so, a delivery boy now," Sora chuckled and Cloud rolled his eyes.

"Yes well, considering my career is taking a different turn then it intended, I'm glad that i'll be able to make money in something simple," and Sora nodded his head as he turned to go up stairs, before he remembered something and turned back, "Oh, one more thing, I got invited to this party, is it ok if I go?" and Cloud looked at his son for a second before saying, "Should be fine...you're not planning on drinking are you?"

"Me? Drink? of course not," Sora said slowly, before walking up into his bedroom and closing the door. Cloud returned to his paper, not too sure whether his son had been sincere or just saying it to make him happy, and was considering making his way up to Sora's room to question him, when he shrugged his shoulders and said, "He'll be fine,"

As Sora entered his room, he placed his bag down as he sat on his bed, finding himself lying down and staring at his ceiling, retreating into his mind as he thought about the first week of school, and all the strange and wonderful things that had happened. From meeting his new friends to having Seifer bully him, all of these experiences flashed through Sora's mind, as he let out a deep sigh, and closed his eyes.

After a while Sora slowly opened his eyes and looked over to his alarm clock, he realized that it was already 6 at night. Had he fallen asleep? Sora didn't recall sleeping, but he also didn't recall going through the last 3 hours. Sora jumped up and walked over to his closet, changing his shirt and jacket before he walked down stairs. His dad had moved from the couch into the kitchen, and was making some sort of 2 minute meal. Sora sighed as he looked around, wondering what he would do to pass the time, when he suddenly heard the doorbell ring.

Sora and Cloud both looked up, wondering whether the other was expecting company. When both looked at each others confused face and realized that it wasn't for the other, Sora made his way towards the door and opened it, his eyes widened with even more confusion, "Riku?"

Standing at the door was his friend, though instead of his usual school clothing, Sora noticed that Riku was wearing the very latest in Heartilly Fashion, including a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a v-neck white shirt and black dress shirt to match. Also sporting a pair of stylish sneakers and was also wearing a pair of ray-band sunglasses, despite the fact that it was almost dark.

"You ready to party?" Riku said in a fake deep voice, and Sora looked at him with so many questions to give his friend, but decided to start with a simple one, "How do you know where i live?"

Riku scoffed as he opened the door and allowed himself entrance, walking past Sora as he said, "Please, come in," sarcasm layered in his voice as he closed the door and faced Riku once again, "You know you haven't answered my question,"

"Lets just say i had a source," Riku smiled, and Sora inched his eye open just a bit, "Please do not tell me you used some sort of government location database to find out where i live,"

Riku instantly stopped looking around as he slowly turned to face Sora, looking behind his ray-bands at the boy, "How did you-"

"Kairi," Sora smiled as he looked at Riku, to which he sighed, "Great...why would she tell you that,"  
"You mean not everyone knows-" Sora started, but stopped as Riku shook his head, stating, "Most people at my school know my mum, whose CEO of Heartilly Fashion...but only the people in our group know about my dad being, well...you know,"

Sora took a deep breath as he sighed, sitting down in one of the seats as Riku took a seat as well, "Thats...a big thing, hey,"

"Yeah," Riku sighed, as he seemed a bit down. Sora didn't know how to move the conversation forward, but the voice of his father soon broke that, "Hello?" Both the teenagers looked towards Cloud, who was leaning against the door looking at both of them.

Both Riku and Sora jumped up, as Sora said, "Dad, this is Riku, Riku, my dad," Sora introduced, and Riku leaned forward as he shook his fathers hand, "Pleasure to meet you sir,"

"Don't worry about that sir stuff, just call me Cloud," he smiled as he let go, and Riku nodded his head as he smiled, and Cloud crossed his arms, "So, i'm assuming you're off to the same party as Sora is,"

"Yeah, just here to show him where it is," Riku smiled, and Cloud nodded his head, "Well, you two have fun...and if you're going to come back home, keep the noise down," Cloud winked and left the room, and Sora merely slapped his head, "Oh dear Yevon," where Riku looked from where Cloud had been standing back to Sora, "What the hell was that all about?" He questioned, but Sora just shook his head as he said, "Don't question it, just ignore him like everyone else who is intelligent does,"

Nodding his head slowly, he made his way to the door, and after ensuring that he had his phone and wallet on him, Sora followed as they made their way out onto the street and into the slowly darkening atmosphere.

"We have to pick up the alcohol first, hope you don't mind," Riku said and Sora merely shook his head as they began walking up a different street, Passing the park that Sora had been at on his very first day on the Destiny Islands. He smiled at the memory of a confused and alone teenager who didn't know whether he would fit in or remain alone. As they passed it, they turned into a street with a couple of small stores, one of which was sold specifically different alcoholic drinks. Sora waited outside as Riku entered, and within a couple of moments exited with a couple of bags full, smiling as he did.

"Being 18 is awesome," He grinned, and together the two began making their way to Selphie's house, Sora helping by carrying some of the bags. He noticed that Riku had managed to procure a couple of cases of Potions, as well as a bottle of Megalixer and even a Bottle of Megapotion, which he thought was weird, as it was usually a drink that was taken for fine social occasions, and not at a teenagers party. Regardless, Sora did not questions his friends taste in alcohol as they turned a corner, and Sora didn't have to look very far for the location of the party.

As they made their way up the driveway, Sora noticed that many cars had gathered around one of the main houses near the other end of the street. From a distance, Sora noticed groups of kids, all dressed up and talking and laughing as they made their way to what Sora assumed was Selphie's house. Some of the teenagers Sora noticed was from some of his classes, but most Sora did not recognize. He wasn't too sure if some of these people even went to Twilight Heights High, but as they reached the front of the door, Sora didn't mind as they entered the house.

_Good morning and Good night,  
I wake up at Twilight,  
It's gonna be alright,  
We don't even have to try, it's aways a good time._

From the minute the two entered the house, Sora could already tell that most of the people who had brought their own alcohol had already started drinking. Sora looked around as many people were chatting, laughing, enjoying themselves and just having a good time. However, the minute people saw Sora and Riku carrying the bags full of alcohol, they all cheered and allowed them to get to the kitchen, where they were greeted by the host.

"Sora! Riku!" Selphie bounded down, wearing a simple yellow dress and a smile on her face, with a bottle of potion in her hand, "Glad you could make it," She gave them a huge grin as she hugged both, Sora a little longer then Riku, which he couldn't help but nudge Sora over this fact. Sora rolled his eyes as the two put the bags down and Riku helped himself to one of the potions, opening it and taking a large swing of the drink, before smiling as he could feel the minimal effects go through his body and grabbed another one from the bag.

"Drink up Sora, this is a night to party," and Sora hesitantly took the bottle from him. Looking from Riku and Selphie, who both had their eyes on him, he opened the bottle and poured a bit of its contents down its throat. The same lemonade taste hit the spot as he wiped his mouth and smiled, "That hit to spot," Sora smiled, and Riku slapped his friend on the back before they looked around, "Come on, let's see if the others are here," and Sora and Riku were about to leave the room, before Selphie looked at Sora, and with a smile said, "Enjoy the party," and gave him another hug before moving on.  
Riku went to slap his friend on the back, but Sora merely rolled his eyes as the two moved on to one of the living rooms, both of the boys looking this way and that, until they found a familiar set of blonde and red hair moving through the crowds.

"Roxas! Axel!" Riku shouted, and the two found the boys and smiled as they made their way towards each other, Axel and Riku hugging each other while Sora and Roxas just nodded their heads, still not going to make any form of contact.

"So how long have you been here?" Sora asked, and Axel responded, "bout 20 minutes, i was watching some of the guys in a Materia contest before i went to find Roxas,"

"Materia contest?" Sora asked, and Axel said "Yeah, follow me" and he led the three over to a small corner.

A group of teenagers were all huddled around two guys sitting across from each other, with a small bag in the middle. Sora watched as one of the boys reached into the bag and took out a small white-glowing orb. Taking a deep breath, he placed it onto his arm, and closed it as he pushed the orb down into his arm, it disappearing into his arm, but left a glowing point in his arm. A small smile came across the boy.

"Materia, thats a drug isn't it," Roxas said slowly, and Sora nodded, responding, "Yep, Technically Materia is a Type-3 Hallucinogenic drug, it's used to give a sense of Euphoria and total calmness over the user, but constant use can result in extreme laziness and in most cases, hallucinations," Riku, Roxas and Axel all looked at Sora who was looking at the contest going, but when he noticed the three looking at him he muttered softly, "My dad was big on drug talks, i know what most of them do," and the three just let out a chuckle as they returned to the contest, "Though i am a little confused as to how one can have a contest on it," Sora remarked, and this time it was Axel who answered.

"Its simple, one by one they take the Materia until one cannot put any more in his body...or they start seeing shit," and Sora got a better look to see that the two boys were each up to three Materia.

"I think i'm gonna get another drink...and sit down," Sora said, and Riku and Roxas agreed to accompany him, while Axel stated, "I've got 20 Munny on Neku, i cannot leave now," Sora thinking the name was familiar to him, decided not to worry about it as the two made their way towards the kitchen. As they tired to find their drinks, Sora looked over into one of the living rooms, and his eyes connected with two more, and saw two other people making their way towards them.

"Good to see you Sora," Riku looked over and saw that their group of three now included Xion and Kairi, both who looked happy to see the three. Sora took note of the Potion bottles in their hands and the grins on their faces.

"Riku!" Kairi gave the teen a hug, and Riku returned it with a chuckle on his face, "Glad to see that you're enjoying yourself," Kairi smiled at the boy, before her eyes turned to Sora and gave him a hug, not as long as Riku's but still comfortable. Sora smiled at the girl before him, and Xion grabbed Sora's hand as she dragged him over to the living room, stating, "Come on, we've got seat's over here," and although Sora was thinking that these seats would now be occupied, was surprised when there were actual a group of seats awaiting them, right next to the DJ.

As Sora took a seat, he looked over to the teen in charge of the musical entertainment for the evening. His Station came equipped with a laptop which Sora assumed had a lot of popular songs that others could listen to, along with a few buttons here and there to allow him to mix and add songs as he chose. Sora looked at the teen closely. He was dressed comfortably in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, with a set of headphones over his ears, a pair of aviators on and a smile on his face. Sora looked over and took note of the mussy blonde hair, blue eyes sitting behind the glasses and lightly tanned skin, as he finished playing his last song, and said into the microphone located close by, "Hey hey students and everyone else, hope you're enjoying the night as much as i am, we have lots more booze and a lot more songs, so stick around,"

Sora instantly recognized the voice as the one he had heard at school the previous day, the one who had stated that Sora would love to have people come say hi to him, and he got up, tapping the teenager on the shoulder, who turned around and smiled, "Hey man, you looking to request a song,"

Shaking his head, Sora pointed to him saying, "You do the announcements at school right?" and the boy nodded, "Why the hell did you tell people id love to talk to them?"

"Woah woah, calm down man, it was just something to say, you know? sounds a bit boring if i say 'Kid called Sora's here', gotta make the public happy,"

Sora was clearly confused about what this kid was talking about, and the teenager shook his head as he said, "Look, i think we got off on the wrong foot, Sorry for saying that without checking with you, I'm Hayner Strugglman, nice to meet you," and he held his hand out. Although Sora was a bit wary, he understood that he was trying to make amends for what he had said, so Sora shook his hand and said, "It's alright, don't worry about it,"

"Look, i'll make it up to you, is there a specific song you want me to put on, i'll move you up in the line, no questions," He grinned, and Sora shook his head, "Thanks but it's ok, sorry for attacking you and all,"

But Hayner just shook his head, "Don't worry about it, all in the past, hope you enjoy the night," and Sora nodded his head as he smiled and sat back down, most of the people talking and having a good time.

"Were you about to get into a fight with Hayner?" Riku chuckled, Sora noticing Kairi with her head on Riku's shoulders and a smile on her face, and Sora just shook his head as Xion traced her finger on his chest as she hummed softly, "Just wanted to sort something out,"

"Well thank god, i don't think anyone else can run that damn thing 'cept for Hayner," Roxas muttered, and Sora smiled as Xion laughed at Roxas' joke, while keeping her eyes on Sora.

As Sora looked around, he noticed many of the people enjoying themselves, slowly getting more and more drunk. The group didn't even have to leave their seats as they watched many of the people handing out free drinks, Sora almost positively sure that they were from the bags himself and Riku had brought in, but neither cared as things began to get funnier and more interesting, and conversations including politics, religion and every other boring thing began everywhere.

As Sora looked around to many of the teens either in deep conversation or just making out, he noticed Axel appearing in the room, sneaky as anything as he made his way towards Hayner, he looked this way and that before he whispered something into his ear as he passed him a M20 note, and Hayner looked at him with a smile on his face and said, "You got it," and Axel just moved away before he found a seat and tried not to let the smile that was growing on his face get any bigger.

Sora ignored this as he turned and looked at a conversation that Riku, Kairi and Roxas was having.

"I just don't see how some people can protest on same-sex marriage Roxas," Riku said and Kairi nodded her head, and Roxas nodded in agreement, "No, i absolutely agree, but some people get misdirected at was Yevonism is based on what they see on the media, it's nothing about th-" But Roxas stopped as Hayner put on the next song, as his eyes widened as he turned around.

"No," He muttered in shock as Axel began to softly chuckle, and everyone else grew smiles on their faces as Roxas began to shake his head, "Whats going on?" Sora asked surprised, and Xion just muttered in his ear, "You're in for a real treat," as the first line of the song echoed throughout the room.

_Everybody Dance Now._

Sora looked down to Roxas' legs, and noticed that one of them was tapping on the ground. Roxas noticed this as well as he pushed his arms down on his knees to force them to stop tapping, but couldn't help when the other foot began tapping as well, and even when trying to apply the same amount of pressure, his entire body began to shake. Sora had no idea what was going on.

"No, please not today, no," Sora looked at Roxas' eyes began to water, as they looked directly at Axel, he was trying hard not to laugh. When it broke through his teeth, Roxas death stared the teenager, "Oh you motherfu-"

_Everybody Dance Now!_

Sora leaned back as Roxas suddenly jumped up, and began the most strangest dancing as he began shuffling around the room, people getting out of his way and instead of helping him like he was asking people, they were all clapping and jumping up and down as Roxas began a series of complicated dance moves, Sora could not help but join in on the laughing that was going on as Roxas cried out as he began shuffling out of the room, followed by several people including Axel, who was one of the few with a mobile phone out and videoing the dancing, yelling out, "Best 20 i've ever spent!"

"What the hell was that?" Sora asked through sharp painful laughs as Riku cleared a few tears from his eyes as he responded to Sora, "For as long as any of us can remember, whenever that song comes on, Roxas cannot help but start dancing to that song whenever it comes on, no matter where he is, he just jumps up,"

"Thats the most hilarious thing i've ever seen in my life," Sora started to cry from laughter, as Riku said, "You should have been here last year, the Principal started playing it instead of one of the more solemn songs, he jumped up and started grinding right in front of Merlin," and this bit of information caused Sora to laugh even more.

As the laughter died down and returned to conversation, Sora looked to Xion who was still watching him with great interest, after a while he leaned forward and smiled, "What?" he grinned, it was clearly that Sora was tipsy, and one might even argue that he was borderline drunk.

"Nothing," Xion said with an equally big grin on her face as she leaned closer and said, "You know Sora, you smell really great,"

Taking a sip of his potion, he said in a fairly loud whisper, "It's all the soap i use," and chuckled at this fact he had said, Xion more interested in his lips, "Bet you taste good as well,"

"Well," Sora leaned in and grinned, "Why don't you taste for yourself,"

"I though you would never ask," and with that, Xion grabbed the back of his head and forced him into a kiss.

Although surprised at first, Sora closed his eyes for most of it, his drunken mind enjoying the kiss that Xion was giving him. He opened his eyes just a bit to see Xion somehow managing to place herself gracefully onto his lap without breaking the connection their lips had. Sora closed his eyes once again and ignored everything as the two began kissing deeper, Sora losing track of time and soon reality as they kept going.

Finally needing air, Xion broke away, lightly touching her smiling lips with her finger and said, "Mmm, taste good," and winked at the boy as Sora barely managed to say, "Feel free for another taste any time," to which Xion smiled seductively as she bent forward, not caring that her arse was sticking out as she whispered, "I think i might take you up on that offer some time," and with that, she gave him a small and yet somehow deep kiss before she winked at him and moved on.

Sora sat in his chair, stunned as Riku smirked and took the seat that Xion had previously occupied, and nudged his friend, "Looked like some kiss," Sora didn't respond, still stuck in his own mind as he felt a familiar voice find his way to him.

_"That tasted so good," _Sora's eyes widened just a bit as he tried to ignore the voice, but it continued, _"You should find her Sora, i'm sure she would be willing to do so much more for you," _The voice putting a thick layer of emphasis on the word 'so'

"Sora?" Sora looked around and realized that he was now standing up. Was he about to go find Xion? he didn't want to, and yet his body must have.

"...Fine," he said slowly, looking around and placing an arm to his eyes. His happiness suddenly gone now that the voice had taken it away from him.

"You sure? you've had a lot to drink," Sora was about to tell Riku he was ridiculous when he looked down at the coffee table, and noticed almost a dozen different Potion bottles as well as a few shot glasses which Sora didn't remember taking.

"...Just need some...fresh air..." He said slowly, as he made his way towards the door, Riku contemplated going after his friend, but as he stood up, he realized Sora was out of sight. Hoping that he was going to be alright, he sat down and starting talking to a random woman from his science class.

Sora took in deep gasps of air as he exited the building. He soon found himself walking down the street. The only thing on his mind was the voice, it had sounded so real, it had sounded like it was right next to him, rather then inside his head, almost as clear as Riku, or Xion, or anyone else had been that night. He reached for his phone as another question popped into his head, how long had he been sitting there. His eyes widened as he realized that it was almost three in the morning. He made sure that his phone was tucked safely in his pocket before he looked around.

Where had his drunken body taken him? he was no where near the house now, rather he was on a beach. He racked his brain and remembered that Selphie's house was near the beach, so he couldn't be too far, and was about to start the walk back home when another person caught his sight. He wasn't much of a person to start a conversation with random strangers, but as he focused his eyes, he realized that he knew that person.

"Kairi?" He said after a few unsuccessful attempts to get her name out, and the person looked up, wondering who it was in the dark and on the beach. Sora made his way towards her, his feat carrying him this way and that, until he was close enough to her not to care as they gave way and hit the soft sand.

"Sora!" Kairi cried out in surprised as she looked towards him, a blank look on his face, like a baby might give an onlooker, before a smile broke through on his face, "Hey Kairi,"

Chuckling, she smiled at the chocolate-haired boy, "Hi Sora...what are you doing here?" Giving himself a few attempted to get up, he managed to pull himself to a sitting position before he grinned at the girl, "Needed a walk...what are you doing here Kairi?"

Kairi smiled as she looked out towards the ocean, "Same here...Oceans always help me sober up...not swimming in them, just looking at them,"

"Swimming in the ocean, that sounds like fun, i'll join you," and Sora actually made to get up and make his way towards the water, but a laughing Kairi grabbed his arm and forced him to sit down next to her, "We cannot go swimming now,"

Crossing his arms like a child not getting his way, he said, "Why not?"

"Because it's 3am, you're not dressed for it, and i'm not strong enough to pull you out when you start drowning,"

Sighing in defeat, he said, "If you say so," and leaned back, allowing his head to softly hit the sand as he looked up at the stars and smiled.

Kairi shook her head with a smile on her face and laid back into the sand next to him, "I love looking at stars...they're so pretty,"

Sora nodded his head, and positioned himself so he could whisper into her ear as he said, "When i was young, i used to think that stars were different planet, and every star there was someone looking up at us thinking the same thing," He nodded his head as she laughed, and smiled.

"Well...i was the same...though i didn't come from another planet...i came from Gran Pulse..."

"You're Gran Pulsian?" Sora asked, and Kairi responded, "Half Gran Pulsian, Half Gaian...mum's full Gran Pulsian, but she tells me my dad was a Gaian man...says he was a great man...he was in the Gaian Guardian Corps, kept in contact with him...until he died about 3 months before i was born...mum always tells me her greatest regret was never telling him about me..." Kairi wiped her eyes as she felt a few tears fall from them, and Sora did the only thing that made sense in his drunken state; wrap his arms around her and kiss the back of her neck.

Sniffling and chuckling, she leaned back against Sora and sighed, "What about you Sora, do you remember your parents at all? Even a little bit?"

Sora took a moment to answer, before he replied, "No, i never knew who my real mother or father was...can i tell you something?" Sora asked, and Kairi 'mmm'ed back, feeling sleep overtake her.

"...I never went to Edge State Orphanage...the first memory i have was being in-" But Sora stopped as he felt Kairi breathing in and out, and looked at her face, seeing that she was asleep.

"Guess i was...boring..." But Sora never got to finish his sentence, as he also felt sleep overpower him, and in minutes he felt himself slowly lying down, until he lost consciousness, the two wrapped in each others arms, with the salt air as their blankets and the wind was the best lullaby they needed, they were both in a state of peace.

**_x_**

**_Songs:_**_Good Time - Owl City Feat. Carly Rae Jepsen, Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now) - Bob Sinclar & Cutee B_

**I wont lie, Kairi's little bit about her past did get me a little teary when i wrote it, but i hope you all enjoyed this chapter, i really enjoyed writing this one, full of information, humor, and greatness.**

**Not much to say has been happening, as i've just been writing for you wonderful people before work takes me away from writing. Once again a huge thanks to all you people who have subscribed, and those who have reviewed; **13Shiroyami, Keyblades of Oblivion and DestinyKeyblader28. **I honestly love you guys so much, you keep me writing, hope you are enjoying these daily updates that i'm trying to give you.**

**So as i say, read, subscribe, favorite and review, i want to know who all you are.**

**Kind Regards to all you lovely readers.**

**JS.**

**(PS. sorry if there are major grammar errors, i did half of this on my iPad and it can seem to hide some of the errors)**


	7. Repercussions

**_J _**_enova _

**_x_**

**_VI_**

**_x_**

_Twilight Coastline_

_Destiny Islands_

_Present Day._

**_x_**

As the sun slowly began to rise, the first thing that hit Sora's head as his eyes slowly opened was a mixture of pain and confusion. As he made to stand up, he found himself unable to even do that, though it wasn't due to pain, rather who was next to him. Sora had to spend a moment fixing his eyes before he realized that the person next to him was Kairi. Not knowing what to do, he slowly edged out of his position, realizing that in her hungover state it might look a little awkward. As he managed to finally get out of the position, he racked his brains as to what had happened the night before.

"Ok," He muttered to himself, "I was at the party...i talked to the DJ...I kissed Xion...and then i was walking...and i found Kairi...oh god, did i tell her...no, no i didn't, i almost did," Sora breathed a sigh of relief as he looked around, before reaching for his phone. Hoping to Yevon that he hadn't tried to call anyone, he was amazed when he saw the amount of text messages on his phone;

**_Text Message from Axel:  
_**_Dude? where are you? Roxas just started doing the worm!_

**_(3) Missed Calls and Text Message From Riku:  
_**_Bro? where are you? i'm going home, wanna make sure you are ok._

**_(5) Missed Calls and Text Message from Dad:  
_**_Sora! call me when you get this! I am not happy!_

"Oh great," Sora muttered as he ignored the other text messages and hit the 'call back' button on his phone, and only had to wait a few moments before Cloud picked up.

"Sora! where in Yevon's name have you been?" He asked, the sound of relief and anger was clear throughout the phone as Sora scratched the back of his head, "I'm sorry dad, my phone died and I sort of crashed at Selphie's house,"

He could hear Cloud give a sigh of relief as he said, "I am just glad that you are ok...I don't mind if you're going to sleep over at a friends house, just...let me know next time, alright son,"

"Im so sorry dad, i'll never do this again to you," Sora promised, and Cloud let out a small chuckle as he said, "Yes you will son...but its alright, as long as i know before hand it is all ok...are you coming home soon?"

Sora looked to Kairi, wondering what he should do. It would be rude to just leave her on the beach in her state, so instead he said, "If you don't mind, i'm going to look after a friend...unless you want me home?"

But Cloud would hear none of that, "No, you look after your friend, just let me know the next time you plan to give me a heart attack, a little warning is always nice,"

Letting out a soft laugh, because a loud one would cause him extreme pain, Sora responded, "Deal...see you this afternoon dad," and Cloud responded with an "I love you son," Before hanging up.

Sora placed his phone back into his pocket as he heard a groaning sound coming from behind him. Sora turned around to see a tired and confused Kairi looking around. Despite the fact that her hair was covered in sand and her make-up a little smudged, she still looked so beautiful. Shaking his head, he moved over towards her as Kairi looked up and mumbled, "Sora?"

"Hey Kairi...glad to see you're ok," and Kairi slowly managed to get up, but not slowly enough as her hand raced to her head as she felt the blood rush all the way to her already in pain head, "Define the work 'ok' for me Sora, because i am almost sure that i am not ok," Sora let out a very soft chuckle as he held out her hand, and helped her stand up.

Kairi looked around before she reached for her phone, and used the reflection of her phone as a mirror.

"Dear Yevon i look a mess," She muttered as she returned her phone to her pocket and looked around, but Sora shook his head, "You look fine,"

This time it was Kairi's turn to shake her head, "No, no, i need to get to my house as soon as possi-" But Kairi groaned once again as her hand hit her head again, clearly Kairi was not used to having hangovers.

"Alright, how about this, ill help you to your house, and then get a coffee," Sora smiled, and Kairi looked at Sora for a moment, before she gave him a small smile and began to move, "Deal Strife...but you have to help me get to my house," and Sora let out laugh, before they both reached for their heads to nurse their hangovers.

"I really wish i wasn't standing so close to you when you laughed," Kairi said, and Sora nodded his head, "I wish i wasn't standing so close to me either," and together they helped each other off of the beach and onto the road, where Kairi would give him minimal directions towards her house, and spent most of her time pointing and looking this way and that, until finally the reached Kairi's street, and were soon looking at her house.

Sora was about to help her inside the house, when Kairi stopped him, "I think it's best in the interest of your safety if you stand outside," This statement caused Sora to raise his eyebrow, "Kairi, i'm not going to try anything, you know me...despite the fact you've only known me for a week,"

Kairi raised her hands, "I know you're not going to try anything...but my mother doesn't...besides, nobody should have to listen to the storm that she will be brewing once i enter," and nodding his head in understanding, Sora moved to the other side of the street as Kairi took a deep breath and entered the house.

Sora shuffled his feet looking this way and that, before he heard two voices yelling at each others. His eyes widened as the yelling suddenly got louder and louder, until a few minutes, Kairi came storming out of the house, slamming the door shut, and walking over to Sora with a 'huff', grabbing him and saying, "Lets go," as she dragged him down the street.

Sora remained silent for a few moments, not daring to say a word, before they turned a corner to the bus stop and Kairi sat down, still grabbing Sora's arm causing him to crash into the seat. Kairi ignored this as she spent the next couple of moments trying to angrily blow a stand of her hair out of her line of sight. When Sora realized that she would not be calming down, he muttered, "...something wrong Kairi,"

"Oh it's my mother! oh sorry, not my mother, _Detective _Claire Farron! never a mother but always a damn police woman!" Kairi angrily screamed, and Sora sweat dropped, feeling that Kairi had skipped over something important. Namely her mother was a police detective.

"You're mother i-"

"Oh it was always the same, back when she was an inspector for damn PSICOM in Gran Pulse, never having any time for me unless i were to get into trouble, and then she would feel like wearing her mother hat on top of her PSICOM one, trying to tell me how much of a troublemaker i was," Kairi huffed, and Sora just stayed quiet, not making a sound, not even daring to, for fear that Kairi might take it the wrong way.

As the bus pulled up, Sora and Kairi both got on, Sora not quiet as sure where they were going as Kairi, and had a fear to ask her. He did have to drag her away from the bus driver when she started yelling abuse at him for merely doing his job, and as they sat down, and rode the bus in silence to their destination, Sora waited until a few moments, and watched as Kairi slowly began to calm down, before he softly cleared his throat and said, "So...where are we going Kairi?"

Kairi looked at Sora for a moment like he was an idiot, before her eyes widened and she said, "Oh, i forgot you're still new here are you, Yevon above i'm sorry Sora, i assumed you knew were i was taking you,"

Chuckling, Sora responded, "It's alright Kairi, but if you could let me know now that would be good,"

"Right, well you said we were going to get coffee, and i know this amazing coffee shop in Dawn, so i decided i would take you...sorry, hope you don't mind,"

Sora shook his head, but then another question entered his mind, "What is Dawn?" but Kairi just smiled as she pointed out the window, and Sora looked behind him, his face now in awe.

Dawn in short was a city, but it was huge, not as big as Edge was, but it was still rather large. As the bus made its way into the city, Sora was amazed, every kind of shop imaginable, from clothing to games to sweets to anything, Sora didn't know where to look first, and as the bus stopped at its final destination, Kairi had to drag Sora off the bus as he was too busy looking through the window to notice.

"So, the coffee shop's over here," Kairi smiled, and Sora looked around, saying softly, "Yeah,", not really listening to what she was saying. Rolling her eyes, Kairi took Sora by the arm once again as she began to lead him over to a set of shops, all with clothing and shoes. Even though Sora wasn't much of a fashion person, he was still in awe. How could someone have an entire store just on sneakers? He had no idea.

As the two turned a corner, Kairi's face lit up as they managed to find the small little corner coffee store, called _7th Heaven._ Sora was amazed as the entire place was two stories. They walked in, and saw that there were a couple of tables and chair in the store as well as outside. Standing in line, Kairi had made the decision that they would both get a small coffee with ground up Poupu fruit, which Kairi had told him was a delicacy at that specific coffee shop. As they payed the cashier and was handed two small coffees, Kairi led Sora upstairs, and as they walked up, Sora stared around in awe.

The entire place looked looked extremely comfortable. Although there were chairs and tables where people could sit and drink, there were also bean bags and smaller areas were mostly teenagers could chill out and have fun. Towards the corner was a stage, where Sora assumed a musical number could take place with the drum set, guitar and mic. Sora stared in awe, as Kairi merely looked at him and took a sip of her coffee, "Impressed?" Sora could not muster words as he merely nodded his head, and Kairi just laughed as they made their way towards one of the chairs closest to the staircase, Kairi and Sora both sat down as they enjoyed their coffee, their silence only lasting a few moments as Sora said, "This has to be the best coffee i've ever tasted,"

"It's the poupu in it i'm telling you," Kairi told him, and Sora nodded his head, completely relaxed. He could feel his former pounding head returning to the same state as before, and he sighed as he leaned back into his chair, and smiled. Nothing could ruin this perfect moment.

"So, you and Xion huh?"

Well, except that.

Sora was lucky that he hadn't been drinking anything, for if he had he might have accidentally spat it out onto Kairi. He could feel in anxiety growing quickly, and he had no idea why. Maybe it was because it had been a drunken encounter, maybe it had been because he didn't feel like talking about women with Kairi. Either way he could feel his face heating up and distracted himself by taking another sip of coffee. When it was apparent that Sora was not going to say anything, Kairi continued.

"I mean, that looked like some Kiss," Kairi muttered as she took another sip of coffee, and Sora looked at her, "You saw?"

Rolling her eyes, Kairi continued, "Of course i saw, it was pretty hard to miss," and Sora looked at her, he began to wonder why Kairi had suddenly grown so defensive as the situation caused his anxiety to grow higher and higher, when his thoughts began to speak, in that calm chilly tone that Sora hated.

_"Why does she even care what you and Xion did? She doesn't like you,"_

"Why do you even care?" Sora asked her, and Kairi looked back at him, "I'm not, just...don't wanna see you get hurt is all,"

_"It's none of her business what you and Xion do,"_

Sora took a sip of coffee, and told her, "It's none of your business Kairi," and Kairi looked at him with her eyes wide opened, and her face a little ajar, "I'm just trying to be a friend Sora,"

_"She's trying to ensure you have no fun,"_

"I think you're trying to ensure i have no fun..."

_"She want's you to end up alone,"_

"...Do you want me to end up alone?..."

_"She should stop telling you how to live your life,"_

"Personally, I think you should stop telling me how to live my life,"

Sora had no idea where these thoughts were coming from, he wasn't even sure he agreed to what he was saying, but he knew that he could not think of anything on his own, and maybe the voice in his head was right this time. It was obvious that Kairi didn't care about him, so why shouldn't he have a good time.

Kairi looked extremely hurt, and said softly, not wanting to make a scene in her favorite coffee shop, "You know, i think you're right, do whatever the hell you want Sora, i couldn't care less," and she got up from her chair and stormed down the stairs. As Sora watched her leaving, A part of him wanted to go after her and apologize, but the more controlling part of him wanted nothing to do with Kairi at the moment. Sighing, and feeling a headache coming on that was not connected to the hangover he had recently gotten over, he drained the last few drops of his coffee, now the taste he had enjoyed before completely gone as he tossed the cup into the nearest bin.

Not know what to do next, he got up and decided that he would explore a bit, although all he really wanted to do was crawl into bed and never see anyone again. As he exited the shop, he turned down a street, which was full of different kinds of clothing stores, gaming stores, and every other kind of store under the sun. As he looked around, not concentrating on the many people who were around him, he suddenly found himself bumping into someone who was equally distracted, and both tumbled down.

"Oh, Yevon i'm sorry," Sora quickly managed to bend up, and began to pick up the items that had fallen. Sora noticed that a lot of these things were art supplies, and as he gathered most of them, he looked up to who he had managed to knock over, almost dropping the items once again as he realized who he had accidentally knocked over.

"Namine?" Sora said quite shocked, and the blonde haired girl looked up, a look of surprise covering herself, "Sora? What are you doing here?"

For a moment he was about to tell her the truth, that he had come here from Selphie's party with Kairi and that they had had an argument and stormed off, but he stopped himself as he realized how bad this sounded, and quickly decided that he didn't need to tell her the whole truth, and only bits would sound a lot better, "I was just recovering from a hangover, so i decided to get some fresh air,"

"In the city?" Namine asked, and Sora stopped dead in his tracks as he realized how stupid it sounded.

"Yeah, i'm starting to regret that decision now though," Sora chuckled a little bit as he began to scratch the back of his head, "So what about you? what are you doing?" and Namine looked at him for a moment before she raised her arms up, showing him the art supplies, "I ran out, needed to get some more art stuff,"

Sora realized that he was not going at all well with this conversation, so he decided to try one more conversation starter, "So, how did you enjoy the party last night?"

"...I didn't go to the party,"

Strike three, Sora was out.

"Oh, Im sorry Namine, i thought that you were invited, Yevon i'm a bit of an idiot right now," he muttered, mentally slapping himself in the head, when he saw that Namine was shaking her head.

"No, no, i was invited, i just don't go to parties a lot of the time, i'm not much of a party person," Namine told him, and Sora nodded his head in response, glad that he hadn't said anything too stupid to her.

"So, what are your plans now?" Sora asked, knowing that this was a safe question to ask, and Namine shrugged, "Well, I should be getting home to get these things here, but i was hoping to hang around Dawn for a couple of hours at least, hoping to run into someone," She looked at him and smiled.

"Anyone in particular?" Sora asked, and Namine just shook her head, saying as she did, "Nope, anyone would be good enough," She smiled, and Sora looked around as he placed his hands into his pockets, "I don't suppose you want to see a movie...with me?"

Namine was taken aback from the comment, as was Sora. He had not spent a lot of time with Namine throughout the first week of school. Maybe that was why he was asking if he could accompany Namine to the movies, that he was trying to make up for the fact that he had not spent a lot of time with her as the others.

Sora wasn't sure how she was going to react, but let out a sigh of relief as she nodded her head and smiled, "You know, i would love to," and Sora nodded with a smile as he looked around, the obvious problem becoming clearer the more he had looked around, "Ah...you wouldn't happen to know where the movie is," and Namine couldn't help but let out a small giggle as she nodded her head and said, "Here, follow me," and together, the two with bags in both their hands made their way through the streets, passing by the numerous buildings, until the two turned a corner, and Sora gazed in awe.

The Movie cinema was a truly spectacular area, off to the right side was where one could get their tickets, while to the left was a staircase leading where Sora assumed was the many cinemas. In the middle of the two areas was a food shop, where Sora could see containers upon containers of different sweets, popcorn, drinks and other delicious delectables. In the centre of the area was a large holographic projector, that seemed to be projecting a large screen with movie previews as well as movie times and deals that the cinema had.

While he was in deep concentration of the movie trailer they were playing, Namine took Sora and dragged him over to the ticket area. All the booths were auto-selling machines with touch screens, Namine placed her bags down and folded her arms, looking at the choices, before saying, "Well, theres always AVALANCHE IV if you want to see that," and Sora turned to Namine, clearly surprised, "You watch action movies?" and Namine looked at him with a smile on her face.

"Surprised that a quiet artist likes watching action movies?" and Sora placed his arms in his pocket as he nodded his head, saying, "Yeah, little bit of shock," and Namine gave a small laugh as she pressed one student ticket and paid the machine, before her small ticket stub rolled out, and Namine grabbed it as she stepped to the side as Sora did the exact same thing. The two smiled as they both moved over to the food area. Both chose different sweets and drinks, laughing and chuckling at jokes as they paid for their food, and made their way up the stairs, there stubs being scanned as they were directed to the cinema that they were looking for.

As Sora and Namine entered, they noticed that they had been directed to a rather comfortable area, with a large screen towards the front, and a reclining seating area. Finding a few spare seats at the very back, they bounded up the stares until they had reached the very back, and took a seat as close to the middle as they could.

"I've heard good things about this movie," Sora whispered, and Namine nodded as she said, "I just liked the first one so much better, back when Zack Fair did his own stunts," Namine opened the bag of snakes and popped one in her mouth, referencing one of the former action heroes who had once done his own stunts.

Sora nodded his head in sadness, Zack Fair was well known as one of the great action movie actors, but he was getting a little too old to do his own stunts. Sora was about to make a comment about how he had still managed to capture the action hero essence, when the entire cinema went dark and trailers for future movies came on.

Sora and Namine in short both enjoyed the movie immensely. They had laughed at all the small funny bits, gasped in awe as the main character jumped from train to train to catch the bad guy, and were satisfied as the movie came to an ending, and Sora and Namine both waited to see whether there would be some sort of small clip after the credits. Sadly disappointed, they both got up from their seats, Sora once again helping Namine with her bag of art supplies as they made their way towards the exit of the cinema.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the movie," Namine smiled, and Sora shrugged, "It was alright, though i really didn't buy the whole snowboarding over the volcano, i mean, even with the small jetpacks on it, he would have to be extremely fortunate,"

Namine rolled her eyes as she said, "You don't understand the point of an action movie Sora, it's meant to be...action-y"

"There can be action and have it believable," Sora stated, and Namine chuckled as she rolled her eyes, "Men, you'll love those action movies, but god forbid if it doesn't fit the laws of physics-"

"Hey, if I have to follow the laws of physics, why can't they?" Sora pointed back to the cinema, and both let out laughter as they looked around and found that they had reached the bus stop. Namine looked ahead, and let out a small sigh as she said, "Well, hate to say it but my bus is currently making its way towards us...do you know which bus you need to get?"

Sora racked his brains, and a small memory of the number '422' popped into his mind, and he realized that that had been the number on the front of the bus. Nodding his head happily, they exchanged goodbyes. Sora going in for a hug which surprised Namine. As he withdrew, he saw that her face had gone a little red and she was using her blonde hair as a curtain.

"Im sorry? did i do something-" But Sora stopped his apology as the girl shook her head, as she muttered, "Not used to being hugged is all..."

Sora was about to say something else, but Namine's bus appeared in front of them. She nodded a goodbye as she took the bags Sora had helped carry of of his hand and turned around, paid the bus driver and quickly made her way to a seat. Sora just stood where he was confused as he watched her bus pull away, and scratched the back of his head as it turned a corner and was out of his sight.

Sora sighed as he made his way towards the bus timetable, glad that he did not have to wait long for his bus. As he sat down, his thoughts traveled through the day, about what had happened, from waking up on a beach to the argument with Kairi, to movies and what Sora had believed was a fun time with Namine, to her look of embarrassment and distance as she had gotten on the bus and not even looked back. Truly this had been a very confusing not to mention an emotional day.

Sora was in such deep thought that he had almost missed his bus coming towards him. Looking up, he noticed the bus just pulling in front of him, and he jumped up as he reached for his pocket, giving the more friendlier bus driver a couple of coins as he made his way towards the back of the bus. He took his seat, noticing that there were only a few people there. As the bus started off, Sora sighed as he closed his eyes and pressed his head against the cold glass, sighing as he lost track of time.

When he finally opened his eyes again, Sora was not sure exactly where he was, as the darkness caused him only to see a clear reflection of his panicking self. Thoughts of whether he had missed his stop began to form in his mind as he cupped his hands towards his eyes and pressing them against the glass, he was just able to make out the park that he had been at, and pressed the 'Stop bus' button, making his way towards the front of the bus as it stopped at the nearest bus shelter. Thanking the man, he jumped off and looked around, only taking a few moments before he had gotten his bearings and knew that he only had a few streets to walk before he was home. Zipping his jacket up and stuffing them into his pocket, he made his way through the different streets, until he had finally come across his house. He took a deep breath as he opened the door into his house.

The first thing he could smell was some sort of rice dish. Caught in its heavenly scent, he made his way towards the kitchen, where Cloud could be seen wearing an apron and whistling some olden tune as he turned around and noticed his son standing at the doorway.

"Glad you could join me for dinner Sora, i wasn't looking forward to eating in a house all alone," He smiled at his son, taking a small notice of his quite attitude as he watched him make his way towards one of the seats and softly place himself down. Cloud remained quiet as he put the finishing spices into his dish, before serving it into two bowls and handing one to Sora, along with a fork. Barely muttering a "thank you," Sora began to dig in, Cloud noticing that he was not eating as fast as he knew his son could.

Trying to make some sort of conversation with his son, he swallowed the bit of rice he had eaten as he said, "So, how was the party?" But his hope for a conversation did not reach high as Sora merely shrugged his shoulders and continued eating. Hoping to get something more then a motion from his son, he asked, "How was the girl you were looking after,"

This seemed to work as Sora swallowed his food before asking his own question, "Dad, why are women so confusing?" and Cloud merely chuckled at a statement that had been asked many times before, looking at his son, "There are lots of reasons why males think females are confusing, and vice versa...but what exactly happened to make them seem confusing to you Sora?"

At this Sora went a bit red, as he tried to phrase his response in a way that wouldn't be too embarrassing, "Well, at Selphie's party...some things happened..." and Sora looked up to see a smirk on Clouds face. Knowing better then to probe his son for a meaning behind 'some things' he responded with a nod and said, "Go on,"

"And then today me and this girl...a different girl..." Sora clarified, and Cloud nodded his head in understanding, "Well, me and this girl are talking, and she wants to know all about me and the first girl kissing, and i tell her it's none of her business, and she storms off...i mean why would she care? she already has stated that she is not interested,"

Cloud smiled as he took a few more bites out of his dinner, before placing his fork down and smiling at his son, "I could give you an answer, but you would probably not understand it and I would be leaving you with more questions than you wanted, so i'll just say that women always have a reason for doing everything, and it is your job as a man to figure it out...just don't leave it too late, otherwise they will not be too happy with you,"

"Well, i think that she's already not too happy with me," Sora muttered, and Cloud merely smiled as he finished his dinner, "Well, these things will aways work out in the end Sora,"

Raising his eyebrow, Sora stated, "You know you are just terrible at giving advice dad," and both father and son laughed as Sora finished his dinner, he realized something else that had happened the previous day, he suddenly went solemn, which Cloud could not fail to notice.

"Im assuming there is something else you want to tell me Sora," Cloud smiled, and Sora looked up, still with the same look on his face as he slowly said, "I almost told her about...well, the thing,"

Cloud looked at his son for a moment, seriousness plastered all over it. Looking at him for a moment, he asked, "What do you mean almost,"

"Well," Sora said slowly, "I got as far as telling her that i wasn't from Edge State Orphanage, when i looked over and realized that she was out," and Cloud looked at him for a moment, before he let out a sigh of relief, "Well, hopefully she was about before you said anything,"

Sora nodded his head in agreement, before Cloud walked over and bent down, looking at his son, "Look, i know that as a 17 year old, you'll always want to drink when you're at a party, but Sora, you have to remember what you are, and you cannot let that information out...If people found out about-"

"Yes dad! I know," Sora growled, and Cloud sighed as he patted his sons knees, looking up and him as he took a breath, "Look, i just want you to have a normal life, after what you have been through, you deserve one,"

Sora sighed as he got up and made his way out of the room, stopping before he said, "Sometimes i wonder whether i deserve a normal life," Sora sighed, and left the room, leaving Cloud to look at his son, sighing as he stood up, and although he wished that his adopted son could have a normal life like every other person, he knew that he couldn't, no matter how hard he tired, no matter how much Sora tried to repress, he would always be who he was, and no body could change that.

**_x_**

**So, that was a very interesting chapter, a lot going on and information flying this way and that, but only time will tell as to what is going to happen.**

**So i might not post for a bit, mainly because i have three straight days of working, but i will try to update as soon as possible for all you wonderful people.**

**A huge thanks for those who have subscribed, and a special thanks to **Steph, 13shiroyami, DestinyKeyblader28, Keyblades of Oblivion, Random Reader 17, Kairiangel035, EthanFlux and Craxuan.

**So, i hope that all of you had a great read, and look out in the next couple of days for a new chapter, until then, Read, Subscribe and Review.**

**Jared Someone.**


	8. Consequences

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_VII_**

**_x_**

_Twilight Heights High School_

_Destiny Islands_

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The sight of the roads near Twilight Heights High was full of cars and the occasional bus delivering students to school on the wednesday morning. The paths were also occupied with students walking, talking and laughing, trying to forget that it was only mid-way through the week. As many of the students made their way towards the school, they could not help but notice a bus full of students making its way towards the designated area, blearing its horn to those who were standing and laughing in the spot, ordering the students to move.

The doors of the bus barely had time to open as Sora came flying down, hitting the pavement with a particularly large 'thump'. Groaning, he looked up to see Seifer smiling down at him as he jumped from the last step onto the ground, slowly making his way towards the boy as his friends Rai and Fuu stepped off after him. The crowd that had gathered on the bus to witness Seifer intimidate the boy had now grown to those who were making their way towards the building, stopping as they smirked and laughed.

"So Orphan, you never did say where you were these last two days," Seifer laughed a cruel sound through the air as Sora groaned, placing his hands on the ground to try and push himself up, but failing as his face softly hit the ground once again, "I was sick," Sora muttered, just loud enough for Seifer to hear him, but Seifer did not believe him for a moment as he said, "See, i think you're lying to me, i think you just didn't want me to come beat the living daylights out of you, is that right?"

Although his reasoning was far from the truth, Seifer had gotten one thing right. Sora had pretended to be sick for the past two days in order to avoid not a confrontation from Seifer, but rather from Kairi. The last thing he wanted to do was to have another confrontation with the girl, so he had tried to convince his dad that he wasn't feeling up to a day of school. Although Cloud had been sympathetic for the past two days, he had soon gotten wise and had eventually thrown Sora out of the house with a backpack and told him he wouldn't let him back in until he had gone to school. Defeated, Sora had slowly trudged off to the bus stop, where he had indeed been met with a confrontation, only this time it was with Seifer.

As Seifer looked down at the boy, Sora heard the all too familiar voice inside his head trying to convince him to take Seifer out, _"Everyone is looking at you, don't take what this insignificant whelp is doing to you, fight back, knock him out, destroy him,"_

"Shut up," Sora muttered fiercely. The voice had barely any time to retort when Sora felt himself being pulled up by Seifer, who had grabbed him by the collar, "Did you just tell me to shut up,"

Sora's eyes widened as he shook his head, "No, I-" But Seifer was not going to let him have it easy as he through him down on the ground, and proceeded to kick him in the stomach. Sora let out a raspy cry of pain as he felt the voice getting stronger, and his body, which was currently in a large state of pain, was agreeing with him. He could already feel his fingers forming into a fist, ready to fight back, when the sound of Riku caused him to forget what he had been thinking.

"Seifer! leave him alone!" Sora barely managed to look up as he saw Riku making his way towards him. Seifer smirked as he leaned down and whispered, "You're just lucky your boyfriend was here," and the three laughed at Sora's misfortune that Seifer had caused as they walked towards the school.

Still in pain, Sora couldn't help but flinch a little as Riku put his hand on the boy's shoulder. Sora managed to push himself up on all fours, before Riku held out his hand, and Sora accepted it as he managed to stand up. Breathing felt like torture as he let out a cough, and Riku put Sora's arm over his neck as they made their way through the crowds, all pointing and looking at Sora with a smirk on their face before they returned back to their conversations.

"You alright Sora?" Riku asked, and Sora merely nodded his head as they entered Sword Building, and Sora managed to lean against a locker as he wiped his head, feeling a bead of sweat run down his forehead. Sighing, he closed his eyes, his heartbeat still hadn't returned to normal, but after a few breaths and concentration, before he looked back at Riku, who was still looking at him worried.

"What is it?" Sora asked slowly, and Riku looked at the teenager as if he was inane, "What do you mean? Where have you been the last few days?"

Sora looked at him for a moment, before he looked down, mumbling as he did, "I've been sick,"

But Riku shook his head, "Don't give me the same bull you gave Seifer. Sora, i know you weren't sick, tell me where you've been?" Riku asked once again, but before Sora could say anything, the bell for the first period sounded, and Sora wiped his head as he slipped past his friend and began walking away, not listening as Riku's words chased him down the hall.

As he made his way to first period Maths, Sora began to slow down as he realized who would be there to greet him. Having not seen Xion since their drunken encounter, He was not sure how he would be able to react. Trying to think of something cleaver to say to her to lead into the conversation, Sora didn't have a lot of time to think as he rounded the corner and almost bumped into the person he was trying to avoid.

Although she looked shocked at first, a smile soon appeared on Xion's face as she leaned against the wall and looked the poor boy over, "Well hello there gorgeous,"

"Oh...h-hey Xion," Sora barely managed to splutter as Xion looked over him. Clearly his nervous attitude was not a turn off to the girl, but she was curious about it, "Something the matter?"

Shaking his head, Sora took a few deep breaths before saying, "Look about the party on friday night...i had a lot to drink...and i wasn't sure what i was...not that you're not beautiful, your very beautiful...well, not that...i mean," But a small chuckle from Xion caused him to stop talking and look at the woman.

"Listen, i think i know what you're so flustered about, and to tell you the truth, i'm not looking for a relationship," She smiled, and Sora could not help but double-take.

"Why not? I mean really?" He said, and Xion let out a smile as she said, "Listen, don't get me wrong, you're a good looking guy...little rusty on the kissing...though not the worst person i've ever kissed, but i don't get into relationships with every person i make out with,"

Sora breathed a small sigh of relief, glad that was one awkward conversation that he did not need to worry about, but before he said anything, Xion lightly touched his arm as he said, "But you know, i wouldn't mind doing that again," She winked at the poor boy, and Sora was once again flabbergasted.

"Look..." Sora said after about seven seconds of sputtering, "I think i might stay off parties for a while, i just seem to get myself into trouble around them," and although a little disappointed, Xion smiled and said, "Disappointing...but if you change your mind, you know where to find me," and with a wink, she drew her hand down his chest as she walked off, Sora turning around her as he said, "Where are you going? we've got class,"

Xion smiled as she turned around and faced the boy, "Think i might pass, got some better things to do then to sit in a class with a Pirate,"

"...a pirate?" Sora asked, as he realized that she was talking about Hatter, and Xion merely winked as she made her way to the end of the room, down the stairs and out of sight.

As Sora turned around, heading for his classroom, he began to think about the days that had gone from the party to now, his worry and his mind going to worst case scenario every time. But as he walked into the classroom, glad that any awkwardness with Xion was now gone, he realized that he still had one barrier to cross before his mind could enter a state of ease.

_3 hours later..._

As Sora exited the Sword building, trying to remember the english notes that he had taken from his class, muttering the notes in his head, he looked towards the cafeteria, his eyes widening as he realized who was standing near the entrance. Kairi, along with Riku, Roxas and Axel were all talking and laughing.

Having not noticed that Sora was there yet, he looked this way and that for an escape. Finding that the entrance to the Staff Building was free, he slowly made his way towards the building, trying to hide himself behind small gathering of students who were laughing and talking. He kept glancing over to the entrance of the Cafeteria, to see whether it was time to run as fast as he could or whether he continue to quietly sneak to the building.

Just as he was about to enter the building, he looked over once again, this being a mistake. Sora looked directly at Riku, who had been laughing before hand, now was looking up and staring at the boy. Riku instantly turned to Kairi, and Sora was not going to stick around to find out what would happen next, so instead he made his way through the doors as quickly as possible, leaning against the lockers as he sighed, closing his eyes and placing his hand against his head, feeling a headache coming on.

As his thoughts began to increase his headache again and again, Sora remembered that he had another friend that normally spent most of her time within the building that he was in. Knowing that said person would not mind his company, he made his way towards the classroom.

As he reached the door, Sora made to grab his picks to open the door, when he stopped himself and gave a small smile as he knocked on the door. Waiting for a few moments, he heard footsteps before the door opened, and Sora said, "Hello there,"

Standing at the door with two paintbrushes in her hands, Namine gave a look of confusion as she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Do you normally great people like that?" Sora responded as he slipped through the door and walked into the studio, with a couple more paintings that Sora had not seen before, "I normally don't get visitors," Sora turned to see Namine walking towards her, lifting her head ever so slightly as she looked at the painting that Sora was currently looking at, a basic sketch that looked like two people, though it was impossible for Sora to see who it could have been.

Sora moved on to the artwork that Namine was currently working on, which on first glanced seemed to be a distance shot of Dawn. Sora looked at the painting for a while, clearly amazed at Namine's talent, but before he could complement it, Namine spoke up, "Haven't seen you for a while Sora,"

Sora instantly went a bit red, clearly he had been hoping that he could get away with the embarrassing situation that had happened on the saturday, but even within the sights of the young artist, he could not get away from it, so he tried his old fashioned excuse, "I was feeling a little sick,"

For a moment, Namine looked at Sora, trying to see if he was telling her the truth or lying, but she soon shrugged her shoulders and returned back to the artwork she was working on. Looking at the painting for a moment, thoughts of the day that he had been in the city returned to him, more specifically the peaceful time he had spent with Namine, and Sora could not help but remember those blissful feelings of peace he had felt, laughing along with the movie they had been watching.

But something else bothered him as well, the hug that he had given her, and the instant change in her attitude from smiling and cheery to solemn, and wanting to get out of the area as soon as possible. Finding no better time then then, Sora asked, "So, what happened when you left on Saturday, you seemed to change your attitude quite suddenly after I hugged you,"

Namine stopped painting for a moment, looking towards the canvas for a few moments before she put both of her brushes down, taking a deep breath as she did. Wiping her hands along her shirt, she turned to Sora as she moved a bit of her hair behind her ear as she turned to Sora, "...I'm not used to being hugged, not much of a hugging person," She said as she looked away, and Sora looked at her. Clearly it was understandable, as Sora allowed a smile to cross his face, "Well, next time i'll just fist bump you?" and Namine could not help but let out a small giggle at this comment.

"But, I am sorry for not respecting your personal space," Sora said, but Namine instantly shook her head as she responded, "No, it's quite alright, i'm just...not use to it," and Sora nodded his head as he smiled, before she continued, moving a little closer towards Sora, "Actually, truth be told, i kind of...liked it..."

Sora nodded his head once again, before he looked towards Namine, realizing that they were quite close. Sora took a step back, trying to keep their distance as she continued talking, "I did enjoy the time we spent together," and Sora nodded his head, trying to make some sort of mention that he enjoyed it as well, though no words were coming out of his mouth.

"You know, after school, i was wondering if we could hang out, have you ever been to the 7th Heaven, it's a great place," Namine smiled at the boy, and Sora looked at her for a moment with a little surprises on his face. Was she asking him out on a date?

At first the idea sounded fantastic, to spend time with Namine, who was not involved with the Drama, Sora could see himself having a great cup of coffee with the woman, and maybe even another cup of coffee, and another movie day, eventually turning into dating. Sora could see a happy relationship with the woman.

But the more he thought about it, the conversation that he had with father continued to rotate around in his mind. His father, telling him that a relationship with his state of mind was not a good thing. The consequences that could occur, Sora was the only one at that point who had to suffer from what he had done, he couldn't bring Namine into something like that.

So backing away towards the Door, Sora let out a small smile as he said, "Actually Nam, i don't really have a lot of time for that, studying and all, I'm sorry," and with that, Sora opened the door and closed it, closing his eyes and regretting the decision that he had just made.

As he opened his eyes and made to his left, he found himself looking towards Roxas, their eyes connecting from across the hallway. No movement was made, both locking eyes with the others, Roxas had a tiny look of terror on his face, wondering what Sora had just done. Sora looked at the boy for a few moments, before he turned and walked away. Not looking back as he heard one of the doors open and shut, knowing exactly where Roxas had gone, but not bothering to see if he was correct or not.

As he began walking down the stairs and out of the building, his thoughts turned once again to Namine, and how he had treated the situation. Namine was a lovely person, and had not deserved what he had just done. However, he needed to do what he had done, he could not do that to the poor sweet girl, nobody deserved that. But what he had done was necessary, he was doing the right thing.

_"Are you sure?"_

Sora felt the voice echoing through his head, causing his already growing headache to continue to expand as he placed his hand to his head, the last thing that he had needed was that voice echoing throughout his mind, "Yes, it needed to happen,"

_"Maybe so, but you still hurt that poor innocent girl,"_

Sora shook his head as he muttered, "It was the right thing to do,"

_"The right thing? You have broken that poor girls heart, you have driven away Kairi...Face it...Sora...You are more like me then you realize,"_

His eyes flew open as Sora growled, "I'm nothing like you!"

"...Sora?"

Sora spun around as he looked to see who had called him, noticing a familiar brunette girl looking straight at him with a look of both hurt and curiosity on her face. Sora hadn't realized that he had been talking out loud, and he looked away as he said, "Hey Selphie,"

The girl looked at him for a moment, trying to think of what to say, as Sora didn't say a word, waiting for her to begin the conversation.

"...were you just talking to yourself?" She asked slowly, and Sora merely responded with, "Headache, makes me...delirious," looking away as he scratched the back of his head, and looked this way and that as he tried to think of something to say. Remembering the party on friday, Sora said, "Hey, i enjoyed your party, it was a great night," with a small smile on his face, and Selphie looked at him once again, still a look of hurt on her face, "Yeah, it was good...saw you hook up with Xion, that was...good..."

Sora could not help but feel the cold steel of guilt slowly cut through his back. Clearly Selphie was upset about this, but Sora could not do anything about it now. Right now he wanted to just get out of the area as soon as possible.

"Look, i'm not feeling well, i think ill just go home early," Sora muttered, and pushing past the young girl, hurriedly wishing her a good day, Sora made his way towards the end of the building and out of sight.

Selphie looked on from where Sora had previously been as she sighed. It had been no surprise that the young girl had had a crush on Sora since she had met him in the park, and had wanted nothing more then to date the mysterious stranger. Selphie had been hurt when she had spent most of the friday night trying to find Sora, and found him locking lips with Xion. However, Selphie could not help but feel there was something about the teenager that she could not put her finger on. On their first day she was sure that he had seen the boy talking to himself, and even now...had he been arguing with his thoughts?

As the bell rung, the girl made her way to the second story of the sword building, having a free period where she would have gone home, she had more important things to do then to go home. Moving towards one of the classrooms, she opened the door, into a room with a couple of desks with laptops, a printing area, and one student sitting at a desk with a camera connected to the laptop. Selphie had walked into the Twilight Heights High News classroom.

"Hey Pence," Selphie said absentmindedly, and the boy known as Pence looked up. The boy was a tiny bit more pudgy then others around the school, wearing a simple red t-shirt and a pair of jeans, he looked up and smiled at the girl, "How goes it Selphie?"

Selphie merely shrugged as she walked towards her desk, placing her bag down as she sat in her seat, sighing as she did, "Nothings changed...how were the pictures?" and Pence smiled as he took the Camera out of the computer and slung it around his neck, "Those ones were good, i think i'll need to do some more though...i would have thought you'd have gone home by now," Pence stated as Selphie sighed, "No, i've got some things I need to check up on,"

Pence shrugged as he made his way to the door, "Alright then, just don't work too hard," and with that, the boy opened the door and made his way out.

As she watched him leave, Selphie sighed once again as she logged on to the school laptop, going onto the internet as she did. Sighing for a few moments, she stared at the blank webpage, before she slowly began to type the words 'Sora Strife' into the search bar, before clicking the 'search' button. She looked over, but there was nothing she could find, save for a Recoded account.

Selphie looked at the bar once again, before she realized that Sora Strife had once been simply known as 'Sora'. Typing his first name only into the search engine, Selphie clicked Search, and as she began looking through the websites, until a particular page caught her attention. Clicking onto it, her eyes widened at what she began to read, and when she had finished reading the page, her hand rose to her mouth as she said but three words.

"Oh dear Yevon,"

**_x_**

**...So hello everyone, i know that i promised this a couple of days ago, and i'm really sorry :( i've actually been suffering from sickness and hayfever, but i've gotten on the tablets, and now i'm...well, somewhat better :)**

**Anyway, this chapter was a tiny bit hard to write, seeing as like before it was more of a bridging chapter. But, now that the chapter is over, i can move on to some of the more exciting stuff :3**

**Now, for not giving you the story at the time that i said, i will give you this. within the next three chapters:**

**You will find out more about Sora's past.**

**You will learn more about the voice in Sora's head.**

**Cloud is gonna get some lovin xD**

**Also, for those who read the previous chapter, the name of the bar, Thalassa Shell Shack has been renamed to the 7th Heaven, for the simple fact that it makes more sense. Hopefully I haven't confused too many of you.**

**A thanks to all the people who have liked and subscribed, including **Keyblades of Oblivion, EthanFlux, DestinyKeyblader28, Random Reader 17 and KairiAngel035 **All of you are so very wonderful, and to those who are merely looking, please subscribe, like and review, i would love to know who all of you are.**

**In the meantime, the good news is that i've already started chapter 8, and because i feel motivation to write it, it will not take long i promise :D Much love to your all.**

**Jared Someone.**


	9. Awkward Struggle

**_J _**_enova _

**_X_**

**_VIII_**

**_X_**

_Strife Household_

_Destiny Islands_

_Present Day _

**_X_**

_Jenova..._

_Jen-o-va..._

_Pr-oj-...ect _

_..._

The alarm sounded causing the young boy's eyes to suddenly burst open. He jumped up in a cold sweat, his breathing coming in rapidly. Looking around at the darkened settings of his bedroom, he slowly pushed himself back into bed, still breathing heavily, Trying to remember what the dream he had just had had been about, but as quickly as he had woken up, the dreams had escaped him.

Slowly looking at his clock, the time was just past 8 in the morning. Normally he would have been late to school, but considering the day was a Saturday, in Sora's mind this was much too early. Trying for a few moments to get back to sleep, this proved impossible, as sleep had now escaped from him just as quickly as the Dream.

Slowly rising, Sora grabbed his phone and turned it on, noticing that it had no messages for him. Glad that he had a reason not to talk to anyone, Sora slowly made his way down the stairs towards the breakfast table, trying to navigate his way from his bedroom down the darkened stairs towards where the food was.

When he finally reached the kitchen, where the windows were shedding some light into the room, he saw his father, already dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, eating breakfast and reading the paper. Cloud looked up at his tired son, then to his watch, "It's Saturday Sora, what are you doing up?"

"Bad dream," Sora muttered as he made his way towards the cupboard, taking out his favorite tasteless cereal and pouring it into the bowl, adding milk and making his way back to the table, "What are you doing up dad?"

Cloud sighed as he placed the paper down and looked at his watch, "Work's called me in, I'll probably be home late tonight," and Sora could not help but give a small smile as he took his fathers paper and opened it up, "You know they work you far too hard dad,"

"Yeah, well until I get in the good books of my boss, then all I can do is keep taking every shift that they offer," Cloud sighed as he walked over to the kitchen bench and picked up his wallet and his car keys, "Any plans for the day?"

Sora merely shook his head, saying as he did, "Think I might just have a quite day to myself," as he continued reading, when suddenly he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Cloud merely smiled as he said, "Looks like someone else has other ideas," and with that Cloud walked out the door to his job.

Sora sighed as he placed the paper down and dug his hand into the pocket of his PJ pants, seeing that the caller was Riku, he hit the answer button as he held the phone up to his hands.

"Hello?" Sora asked, and be voice of his friend answered him, "Morning sunshine, did I wake you up?"

"Nope, already awake," Sora got up, abandoning his food and his paper for the moment as he walked into the lounge room and sat down in the comfortable, if not cold couch.

"That's good, any plans for today?" And Sora replied with a no as he reached for the remote of the tv, changing the channel every few seconds to find something good on.

"Even better, I managed to score a couple of tickets to a struggle game today at the Mirage Arena, and you're coming with me," to which Sora sighed as he finally turned on the TV, "Is this another plot to get me onto the school struggle team?"

But Riku was quick to deny this, "This is nothing more then a couple of the guys going out to see a game, you in?"

Until Riku had mentioned "the guys", Sora had been trying to find a reason not to go at all, mainly due to the fact that if Riku had been inviting the group, that more or less would have included Kairi as well, and that was the one person that he didn't want to be around at the moment. For the entire week Sora had spent the time trying to avoid the girl, for fear of another argument. Sora had skipped almost every music lesson and had spent time finding a secluded area where nobody would bother him to have lunch. Sora assumed this was Riku's way of reaching out to his friend, for they had not spent a lot of time together at all. Seeing no way to get out of it, he smiled as he said, "Sure, why not,"

"Great! Be at the Dark Margin Harbor In 2 hours, see ya," and with that Sora heard the sound of the dial tone as he ended the call and slipped the phone into his pocket, before a thought crossed his mind.

"Where the hell is Dark Margin Harbor?"

After checking on the internet, Sora found out that Dark Margin was the name of a Airport/Harbor that was positioned directly in between Twilight and Traverse, Traverse of course being the other area of the Destiny Islands, which Sora had not too much knowledge over. Dark Margin was the only major connection between the two areas, and had both Domestic and International ships and Plains, some to the smaller areas connected to the Destiny Islands, such as Radiant Garden, an area whose main focus was was entertainment, gambling, movies and leisure, Hallow Bastion Psychological Rehabilitation Asylum, where the weak of mind could find a place to heal, and more importantly, Mirage Arena, Which Sora read as one of the great sporting arena's Gaia had ever seen.

Quickly finding an easy path from his house to Dark Margin, Sora showered and changed, not changing from his usual jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket, he found his wallet and phone before he walked out of the house, locking the door behind him as he made his way to the bus shelter. Sora did not have to wait long until the bus came, as he got on and muttered where he wanted to go, he chose a seat near the back and watched as the bus took him towards Dark Margin. Sora did not have to look close as they passed by a few more houses, before he stared in wonder.

From their location, Sora could clearly see Traverse for the first time since he had arrived on the island, and from first looks, the place was an eye-saw. Sora could make out the many gratified buildings, most looking like run down apartments. As they drew closer to Dark Margin, Sora could not help but see some of the people there, all dressed in tattered rags and most leaning against the buildings. Sora could make out some of them pushing Materia into their bodies, and the signs of relief that followed.

After a few moments, Sora felt the bus slowing down, and looked up as they reached the Harbor area of Dark Margin. As the bus stopped and Sora stepped off, he could not help but marvel at it. A large building, where some fast food shops and tourist stalls were all around. In the distance, Sora could see the gates, with several ports where many of the fairies, some smaller for Domestic travel, while others were larger, some traveling to Edge, while others going so far as Gran Pulse.

As Sora stood in front of the building, checking his phone every once and a while, he looked up too see two Taxi's, both quickly making their way towards them. Sora knew that these cars were holding his friends, and let out a small smile as both the cars screeched to a halt in the parking area.

From the car closest to Sora, he saw Axel get out, slamming the car door and handing the man munny as he looked towards the other car, "You owe me 50 Leonhart!"

"Bullshit!" Came the response as Riku got out of his taxi, also handing the man money, though it looked like Riku was tipping heavily, "I won and you know it?"

"I'm pretty sure the old lady we passed managed to beat you," Axel smirked as he slammed the car door shut and allowed the Taxi to move off.

"You passed one and was behind 50!" Riku yelled back as he also slammed his door and let the Driver drive off to find other people to transport, Sora smirked as he began walking towards the two, cupping his hand and shouting as he did, "I've seen snails faster then-" but Sora stopped walking as he noticed someone else getting out of the car, his eyes widened as he recognized the Auburn red hair, and for a brief moment, Sora actually considered turning around and walking as fast as he could back home (despite the fact he had no idea where his home was from where they were).

But just as suddenly as he had frozen, Kairi had gave but a glance as she walked past him, power-walking towards the harbor, making it very obvious that she did not want anything to do with the boy.

As soon as she was out of his line of sight, Sora moved towards Riku, who was looking at where Kairi was going and not paying attention to the chocolate haired boy who was now in front of him, "Riku!..."

"Now I know what you're going to say Sora...how did I get these tickets at such short notice? Well..." But Riku's attempt to lighten the situation was in vain, as no sort of smile managed to break the boy's face. Sighing, Riku continued, "Look, I know that things between you and Kairi have been a bit...icy, so I'm here to restore the balance of friendship,"

Sorta could feel the voice inside of his head growing as he heard the all too familiar whisper, _"He couldn't leave-"_

"-Well enough alone," Sora found himself saying, as his eyes widened at what had happened, and Riku, who seemed to take the whole thing as a joke, smiled as he winked and said, "Nope," Before he made his way towards the harbor.

Sora sighed as he began to rub the temples of his head, what had started out as a great way to leave the awkward week behind had now vanished in a blaze of auburn hair. As he felt himself suddenly becoming sick, a swift slap on the back caused him t return to normal as he looked up to see Axel looking at him, "Cheer up Sora, it's not every guy who had two ladies after him,"

"You want the life it is all yours," Sora muttered causing a sharp laugh to echo throughout the parking lot, "Thanks but I've already got enough women troubles on my hand," and with that Axel whistled as he made his way towards the harbor, followed by a troubled Sora as he continued to rub his head, trying to rid himself of his headache among other things.

As the group made their way towards the ticket booth, Sora maintained a distance between the others. One reason was that he did not want to accidentally start another argument with Kairi, but the more important reason was the sound in his head, not only causing his head to vibrate in pain, but also send chills all throughout his spine.

_"These fools are trying to force you to be kind to this woman, she does not deserve anything from you,"_

"They are just trying to help me,"

_"You don't need them, you don't need anybody...except me,"_

"Shut up!"

"Sora?"

Sora looked up, and noticed that both Riku and Axel were looking at the boy rather concerned. Sora looked past them for a moment and noticed that Kairi was already buying her ticket. However, as he turned back to the boys, he could not help but notice that she gave him but a second glance of concern.

"Sorry, just...feeling unwell," Sora muttered, but rather then show any concern, Riku slapped him on the back, "There is no way you are getting out of it that easy," and with that Riku grabbed his friend and dragged him towards the booth, Lightly throwing him down as he looked at the young girl who was working the ticket booth.

"We shall have three tickets to Mirage Arena thank you," Riku grinned, and the young woman looking at Riku with a tired expression on her face as she typed something in and said, "45munny thanks,"

Sora made for his wallet, but by the time he had withdrew the necessary amount of notes, Riku was already handing him his ticket, "No, Riku, I'll-" but Riku did not say a word as he pushed the ticket into Sora's hand, before handing Axel a ticket and running to catch up with Kairi. Sora just looked at Axel for answers, but he just chuckled as Axel merely said, "That's Riku," and slapping the boys back, he walked with him towards the gate, where another tired-looking employee who looked like he wanted nothing more then to be back in bed, scanned their tickets and allowed them entrance.

"So, Sora, have you ever been to Dark Margin before?" Axel asked, and Sora merely shook his head, "We came by car over Fate Bridge," as the two boys began walking into one of several tunnels with many other people who were chatting and enjoying the time. As Sora began to see a light, Axel merely smirked, "You're going to enjoy this," and Sora had to shield his eyes as they reached the outside. When his eyes adjusted, he could not help but gasp.

The boat looked rather magnificent, even though it wasn't as big as the other ships around. It looked like it could fit over 500 people, it was completely clean from the outside, and looked completely updated, Sora could not help but stand and admire in awe, with Axel standing next to him.

"The Latest in ShinraTransport, the Domestic ships have state of the art entertainment areas, including dancing areas, Sports betting, restaurants, and not to mention checked every hour to ensure that safety is 100%," Axel could not help but cross his arms and smile at the ship, as Sora turned around to look at him.

"Those are ShinraCorp?" and Axel merely smirked, "ShinraTransport is a large contributor in the public-transportation business," and with that he walked towards their transport. Sora took a moment longer, before he followed Axel, and made his way towards the ship. As he showed the ticket once again to a guard, he walked up the stairs, until he had made it on the ship. Looking this way and that, Sora managed to locate fire-red hair inside the ship right near the bar, and made his way towards Axel, who was already draining a glass of water as he asked for another one from the pretty bar-maid.

As Sora managed to reach the man, they heard a cool, cheery female voice sounding throughout the ship, "Good Morning, this Class Three Shinra Ship, the Blue Narciss will leave in approximately one minutes, time to arrival to Mirage Harbor will be one hour, thank you for choosing ShinraTransport,"

"Like we had a choice," Axel coughed as he drained another glass of water before returning to the bar girl, "Any chance you can put something strong in their love?" Axel winked, but the bar girl merely rolled her eyes as she filled his glass with another water as Riku smirked, appearing behind the two, "Still trying to convince the bar-maids to slip you some alcohol,"

"It's worked before Riku," The flame-haired man muttered as he sipped his glass of water this time, and Riku laughed, "It happened once, and you had tipped her rather heavy," and Axel merely rolled his eyes as he continued drinking, before the boat began to slowly move, and before too long, they were out of the harbor making their way to Mirage Arena.

Sighing as he felt the boat rocking to and fro, Sora made his way out onto the deck of the ship, with Riku following him. The two stared at the coastline growing fainter and fainter as they made their way towards Mirage Arena, Sora could not help but sigh as he looked around, wondering where Kairi had gotten. Riku seemed to know what Sora was thinking as he said, "She's on the front of the boat,"

Not wanting to show that he cared, Sora merely shrugged as his attention turned to the Destiny Islands, and more specifically where they had just left. Sora's memories traveled to the area of Traverse that he had seen, the run down area that looked like it was not fit to live in at all. Finding this as a good way to change the course of their conversation, Sora asked, "What is with Traverse Riku? Why is it run down?"

When Riku had not responded for a few moments, Sora looked at him, to see that his face was neutral, but had a tiny hint of sadness in it. Not wanting to push it, Sora stayed quiet for a few moments, before Riku responded, "50 years ago the Destiny Islands was populated, and for a time it was considered a second chance, a place of happiness and peace...but over the years, crime even found its way to the Destiny Islands, the last safe haven on the planet. So, in an effort to boarder it off, Traverse and Twilight were created, Twilight where the rich and honest would live, and Traverse where the crime would be contained...Twilight Police Department has a whole devision whose sole purpose is to contain the Organized Crime in Traverse," Riku sighed as he closed his eyes and felt the cold air blowing against his face, sighing, as if Riku had been apart of the terrible time that had happened during the all out crime in the Destiny Islands.

"Organized Crime?" Sora asked, not aware that the Destiny Islands had any organized crime, and Riku nodded his head softly, "The Unversed Crime Family, they're known for Drug Trafficking around the Destiny Islands, mainly Materia, the WRO has been trying to shut them down for years now, but they can't seem to catch them...though thats primarily due to the fact that nobody knows who the head really is," Riku sighed as he walked away from the edge of the boat, leaning against one of the walls as he folded his arms and looked out to sea.

"How do you know so much about this?" Sora looked at Riku, who scoffed as he said, "My dad's the Director of one of the largest Intelligence groups on the planet, I grew up learning about the crime everywhere in Gaia, Gran Pulse, Spira, everywhere," and Riku looked around as he stretched, looking around as he began walking, saying, "I'm ready for a drink, you?"

Sora shrugged, saying as he did, "I could drink," and together the two teenagers made their way into the boat, where a couple of people were sitting at the bar, while others with drinks in their hands were watching a Blitzball match currently going on in the famous Edge Stadium, most drinking and entertained, while others were placing bets on the match.

"COME ON! HE WAS WIDE OPEN!" Axel yelled as he drained the water, again getting another as Sora and Riku managed to make their way towards him, "Not going as well as you'd hoped Axel?"

"I've got 20Munny on the Aurochs to win, and they're being slaughtered," Axel sighed as he began drinking once again, draining the water quicker then anything, as Riku and Sora both looked at him, "It's a good thing thats not alcohol or you would have a serious problem," Riku laughed, and Sora merely smirked as the young sweet voice filled the boat once again.

"We will be arriving at Mirage Harbor in five minutes, please wait for the boat to come to a complete stop before disembarking, thank you for choosing ShinraTransport, the Future's only choice," the the boys drained their drinks before looking around, Riku saying, "I better find Kairi, i still have her ticket," and Sora nodded his head at the teenager as he went out of the main area towards the front of the boat.

Sora could not help but sigh as he asked the bar-maid for a water. Smiling at him, she got him a glass of clear water as he drained it, wiping the tiny drops of water from his mouth before he placed it onto the table, thanking the girl as he and Axel made their way outside, Axel saying as he did, "You're going to enjoy this," and could not help but give a little smirk as Sora looked outside.

The Island wasn't exactly small, but from what Sora could see, the entire Island was made up of a Struggle Stadium, with what Sora could only assume was a stone stairway leading up to it. Sora looked in awe, the entire place looked like it was full of history, of memories of different struggle matches across the years, it looked amazing.

Axel could not help but smile at the look on his face, saying as he did, "Mirage Arena, the first place to host an International Struggle Game between the Gaian SOLDIER's and the Gran Pulse Protector's, and considered one of the several wonders on the planet," Axel could not help but smile as they came closer towards the harbor, where it eventually docked with a slow _'thump'_.

As the several stairs connected with the side of the boat, many people began to make their way off the ship towards the Harbor. Sora looked down the stairs to see Kairi and Riku stepping off the boat. Sighing, and knowing that this was going to be a long day, both Sora and Axel made their way down the stairs and reached the concrete ground of the harbor. Looking around, Axel smiled as he saw the lost boy looking around, and place an arm around his neck as he lead the boy towards the ticket booth.

Scanning their tickets and welcoming them to the Mirage Arena, Sora and Axel both moved through the gates, amongst the huddles of other people until they finally reached outside the ticket scanning area. A long path greeted them, on either side luscious green grass that looked like it was taken care of every single day.

As they continued walking, they reached a pavilion like area, with many different stalls, some selling fast food, others selling t-shirts, struggle bats, memorable cups and other different items a tourist might buy. Sora slowly turned around in awe as Axel stood a couple of feet behind him, arms crossed and a smirk on his face as he looked over to see Riku and Kairi already buying something to eat. Axel walked over to one of the hot chip stands, buying 2 boxes as he returned back to Sora, who was still turning around in amazement.

Axel shoved the box into his hands as he took a chip out and popped it into a mouth, a warm smile appearing on his face as he said, "Not cold, not too hot, the perfect chip," and he popped another one into his mouth. Sora looked at the teenager walking away, before his eyes returned to the box in is hands as he took one of the chips out and softly popped it into his mouth, an explosion of warm flavor hit his mouth, and for a moment, Sora actually considered giving up every other type of food just to have these wonderful chips forever.

"Sora!" Sora looked up to see Axel calling him over towards the opposite end of the Pavilion, a set of stairs leading up towards the Mirage Arena. Sora looked down at his box of chips, and realized that he had already devoured half the box. Closing the lid so he could save some for the game, Sora tucked it under his arm as he walked up to Axel, and together the two men began climbing the stairs.

As they continued walking along with all the other people ready to watch the struggle game, Sora noticed that the stairs split off into three different pathways. Each path seemed to lead towards one of three entrances to the Arena. Sora stopped for a moment, not knowing which path to take, before Axel laughed and grabbed the boy, leading him towards the middle of the three paths.

Higher and higher they continued to climb, until they reached the very top, where almost two hundred people were lining up along one of the several smaller gates, all with Mirage Arena personal scanning tickets. Sora and Axel reached the gate as the tickets were scanned, welcomed to the Arena, and thanking the Staff, they began to make their way inside the arena.

As they came towards the end of the tunnel, Sora had to shield his eyes as they adjusted to the light. The entire area looked like it could seat thousands upon thousands, the Arena looked like a colosseum, the seats looked comfortable, with cup holders and small touch screens embedded into the arms of the chairs. Higher then they were were several private boxes which seemed to hold important people. Towards the centre was a field, marked out with a smaller circle in the centre. Sora could not believe what he was witnessing, the entire area looked state of the art, and Sora was impressed.

Axel grabbed Sora's arm as he scanned his ticket, smiling as he said, "Come on, we're over here," and Sora led him towards the back of the arena, finding their seats and sitting down. Sora sighed as Axel sat two seats to his right with a smile on his face. Sora was too busy looking at all the people making their way into the area, all from distant countries, from other areas of Gaia, to Gran Pulse, and even to Spira. However, when he was looking around, Sora noticed Axel smiling and said, "What?"

"You'll see in a couple of minutes," Axel merely sat in his chair as he tapped something on the touch screen, typing something in. Curious, Sora looked down at the touch screen, seeing that there were several options, including 'teams', 'stats', 'betting', 'leader-board', 'tips' and 'connect to Recoded' Sora looked over to see that Axel was already placing bets on the home team, the Destiny Islands Poupu's, to win was Sora could make out as 'Round One'. Smirking, Sora tapped on the 'tips' and began to scroll through, stating that the Destiny Islands Poupu's had several key players that had been apart of the Gaian SOLDIER's team in the Inter-Planet Tournament, and were the team to win.

As he continued scrolling through, he felt someone sit next to him on his right, he looked up too see Riku looking at him, with a small smile on his face as he looked at the touch screen on Sora's arm-chair, asking as he did, "Planning on betting?"

"I have no idea who to go for," Sora smirked as he began scrolling through the Edge Warriors, looking over their stats as Riku responded, "Just bet for the home team, thats what you always do," and Sora looked at the man with a smirk on his face, "I did live in Edge once upon a time Riku," and Riku merely laughed as he sat down.

After Sora had gone through, he turned back to Riku as he said, "So wheres Kairi, buying something to eat?" As he took a chip out from the box he had been carrying and popped it into his mouth, before a small cough coming form his left. Sora's eyes widened as he slowly turned around, and found himself looking at a very cross-looking Kairi, her arms sharply folded and her leg crossed over the other, who seemed to be interested in the empty field.

A very large grin appeared on his face as he turned to Riku, who now seemed interested in one of the chips in his box. As he placed it into his mouth, he gave the boy a smile, who now looked like he was trying to kill him with his eyes. Riku shrugged and smiled as he found something every interesting in the box, shrugging as Sora leaned back into the chair, his thoughts coming in once again.

_"This has been a set up Sora, this boy has set you up, leave right now, you don't need to be here,"_

Sora groaned as he popped a few more chips into his mouth, and before he knew it the entire box was gone. Placing it under his chair, he closed his eyes trying to remain calm, and to concentrate on something other then his awkward situation. As he began trying to go over conversations that he could say, Sora suddenly realized that he had no true idea on how a Struggle match was played.

Not knowing why he had asked this question before, he leaned over to Riku as he said, "So, how exactly do you play Struggle?" Riku looked at the boy like he was insane, saying as he did, "You don't know how Struggle is played?" and Sora merely shook his head. As an outcast in his previous life, he had never really gone to any of the sporting events and school, and only had a basic understanding of Struggle. That basic understanding being that it was a sport, and that was it.

But as Sora waited for Riku to respond, a smile began to form on his face, as if an idea was coming through with that smile as he said, "You know, Kairi is much better at explaining the game than I am, why don't you ask her," Sora's eyes widened, spluttering for a few moments before he said, "That is the most ridiculous thing i ha-" but Riku had turned to Axel and was now talking about something completely different.

Sighing in defeat, Sora turned to Kairi, and cleared his throat, hoping that this would get her attention, but all it did was make her focus on the field with a lot more concentration than it deserved. Sighing, he wondered how he should begin the conversation. Should he start with a simple 'Hello' or come in with something more confident, but realized that anything confident might cause her to see him as even more of a self-obsessed arsehole, so he instead chose something solemn. "Hello Kairi," Sora was barely able to say, and Kairi gave him a second glance before returning back to the field, "Hello Sora,"

Sora looked towards Riku, who along with Axel was looking at the process that was happening, but as Sora looked at the two teenagers with death dripping from his eyes, they both turned back to each other talking about something to do with school. Sighing, and realizing that he had no other choice, he began the conversation once again, "So, do you know how this game is played?"

Kairi looked at him for a moment, before returning back to the field, "Why don't you ask Riku?"

_"Because he is a conniving son of a bitch that wants to humiliate you," _Sora was about to shake his head when he noticed Kairi looking at him strangely, so instead he coughed as he said, "He's too busy with his conversation with Axel,"

Kairi rolled her eyes and sighed as she returned back to the field, as the entire stadium was almostfull, she explained the game, "Each team has 5 players, the game starts off with one person from each team on the field, each given a belt with six ball latches, and three orbs. The two are given 15 minutes to obtain all three orbs from their opponent. After the 15 minutes, The number of orbs a person has is added as their score, the team that has the highest score in the end wins," As soon as she had finished explaining the rules, she returned back to staring at the field, before looking at her small rectangular touch screen and began typing something in.

Sora sighed as he closed his eyes, barely able to remember the rules as he leaned back into his chair, although the conversation had caused him moments of un-awkward conversing between the two, Sora was still angry at Riku for tricking him into the conversation, his thoughts were becoming a lot more violent, but soon they heard music starting, and Sora instantly snapped his eyes opened as he looked down, and saw the two teams entering the Arena.

The body shape of these people all ranged from muscular and large to small, thin and light on their feet, Sora wondered how the different body shapes would be able to handle each other on the battle field, the strengths and weaknesses would be interesting. Sora watched as they all walked up to each other and shook the others hand, before they returned to their 5 seats, placing water bottles and jackets down as they began stretching. Sora watched as two representatives went to each side, handing each member a belt buckle with six latches and three orbs, and a struggle bat, blue with a small handle. They all took it, placing the buckles on and swinging around the bats, all in different stances and with determination on their faces.

Suddenly, the music was silenced and the same cool cheery female voice from the boat appeared from the speakers, silencing everyone, "Hello, and welcome to Round 13 of the Gaian Struggle Tournament between the Destiny Islands Poupu and Edge Warriors, sponsored by DemyxTime Media, Viewing at its finest, and ShinraCorp, The Future's only choice, May I remind all viewers that filming of this event is forbidden unless approved of by DemyxTime Media, thank you, and enjoy the match,"

Sora watched as the first two members of each team stood up and made their way onto the field, the female voice calling out their names, which Sora failed to recall as he was too busy thinking. Both the athletes, big strong men with pitch black hair circled each other before they stood still on their respective side of the field, swinging their struggle bats as they waited to go, before the female voice sounded again, "Round One begins in Five...four...three...two...one...struggle!"

At once both members lunged at each other, their bats making contact. Dodging the first swing, the Destiny Islander swung his bat over the head of the Edge-man, knocking him in a daze, given the Destiny Islander a chance to connect his bat over the chest of the man, causing him to fall on the ground. The force of the knock caused the first latch to burst open, and the orb fell to the ground. The Islander grabbed it quick as anything and placed it into his first free Latch, which locked the orb in place. He had just enough time to look up and jump back as the Edge-man took a swing, just managing to get his arm before the Islander jumped back, stretching it as he waited for another move to be made.

"Wow, this seems dangerous," Sora muttered, and Kairi nodded her head, "No referee, just two struggle players for 15 minutes each," Before she realized she had just spoken to Sora, and coughed as she continued watching the game, Sora sighing and turning back as the Edge-man smacked the bat over the Islander, causing him too fall and his first latch opening up, giving him a chance to even the orb score once again.

The entire first round was exciting, both trying to outdo the other, however, when the siren sounded around the arena, with the Edge-man having scored 4 and the Islander 2, cheering sounded around the Arena, with the Destiny Islanders boo'ing and sighing. Sora sighed as Axel groaned in horror. Sora, Riku and Kairi all looked at him as he revealed why he had sighed, "I bet Destiny Islands was going to score higher in Round One," and he grumbled as he began betting once again into his touch-screen. Sora and Kairi both chuckled, as they looked at each other and looked away, clearly embarrassed. Riku sighed as he ate another chip from his box, finishing it as he watched round 2.

The rounds were just as exciting as ever, each of the members of the team working as hard as they could to gain points for their team. As the match continued to get more exciting, Sora and Kairi both found themselves becoming more relaxed around each other, with them even cheering when Destiny Islands won, and laughing when Axel cried having lost a bet, though neither would admit that they were having a good time, frustrating Riku something awful.

When they finally reached Round 5, with the score 14-10 Edge's way, the final two members got up. The Islander was small and thin, with the Edge-man a big man. Axel scoffed as he said, "This is too easy...100munny...to Edge," Axel placed into his computer and entered, smiling as he rubbed his hands together. Riku just gave a small smile as he quietly typed something into his own, and leaned into his chair as he watched the final match take place.

As they both circled for the first time, the Edge-man gave the small athlete a laugh, as though he was sure he knew what the outcome was. The Islander just smirked as he twirled his struggle bat, ready to begin. Everything was silent as the female announcer said, "Final Round begins in five...four...three...two...one...Struggle!"

The Edge-man smirked as he brought the struggle-bat down, but the Islander jumped out of the way, landing a tiny bit far away before he bend his legs and launched himself at the Edge-man, swinging his bat as it connected with the man's belt, hitting each of the latches with such force and swiftness they all let out the orbs that they were holding. Everyone watched in awe as the Islander picked up the orbs, connecting them to his belt. The Edge-man roared in frustration as he began chasing the Islander, but he just continued running around, every time he got near the Islander, he would either jump over him, or knock him near the head to confuse the giant man, and continue running, until the end of the round sounded, and the Destiny Islanders all cheered at the fact that they had won.

Riku could not help but laugh as he watched Axel crying in horror at the loss, while Riku's touch-screen began to light up in celebration. Sora leaned over, his eyes widened at what he was seeing. Axel noticed this, and leaned over, his eyes widening, but instead of being struck silent, he yelled out "1500MUNNY!"

"That's what you get when you bet against your team Lea," Riku smirked as he leaned back in his chair. But Axel instantly grabbed the boy and roared, "I don't care if the rich have gotten richer, the name is Axel! Got it memorized!" and Riku, who normally was calm and happy, nodded his head completely scared at the man. Letting him go, Axel got up and made his way out, saying something about trying to find someone who would sell Alcohol to him, and also saying he would be glad when he turned 18 within the next month.

Sora looked towards Kairi, who was getting ready to leave, however as he turned to his right, he realized that Riku had already hi-tailed it out of the area. Sighing, and promising to beat Riku to a pulp the second that he found him, he got up and said, "Shall we go?"

Kairi looked up, and then around to see if Riku was there. Sora could not help but notice as she got up that she had the same look on her face as Sora had had, though whether it was for Riku or for himself was another question entirely. Nodding her head, the two made their way through the crowds and out into the daylight.

"So, good match huh?" Sora said, and Kairi nodded her head softly as she said, "Yeah, it was alright,"

"...thought it was going to be close," Sora tried once again, and again Kairi nodded her head, "Well, glad that the Destiny Islands won," Sora sighed as he continued walking down the stairs, he had no idea what to say towards the woman, but as they continued walking down the stairs, he realized that there was something he needed to say.

"Listen, Kairi, about last-" but he was cut off as Kairi turned around and said, "I'm sorry!"

Sora instantly stopped, and felt two or three people run into his back. Ushering a quick apology towards them, he looked back at Kairi, "You're sorry?"

"It was wrong of me to press about Xion, i should have just left it," She mumbled as they reached the bottom of the stairs, and Sora shook his head, "I reacted badly, you're my friend and i should not have acted the way i did...it's just..." Sora sighed as the two walked towards one of the picnic tables in front of one of the many fast food areas and sat down, taking a deep breath as he did, "I've had anger management issues when i was a kid, sometimes i get very angry and i just...say things, most of the time these are things that i don't mean, but they still hurt the people that i love...I'm sorry," but before he could say anything else Kairi launched at the boy with a hug, saying as she did, "I forgive you,"

Sora let out a small smile as he held the girl, whispering softly into her ear as he said, "It is more then i deserve,"

"...well finally!"

Sora and Kairi instantly broke apart as both Riku and Axel looked at the two, Axel carrying a bag while Riku looked at the boy and back to his winnings, smiling as he did. Sora looked to Kairi and had already seen red beginning to spread over to her face as she made her way towards the ship, not looking at anyone.

Sora let out a small cough as the two taller teenagers looked at him with sly smirks on their faces, "Did we interrupt something Sora?" and Sora shook his head, while the voice in his head was busy echoing throughout his head once again, _"Of course he did, he ruined a good moment, he should be put in his place, he has been meddling with you all day,"_

Shaking his head he said, "I think i'm ready to go home after today," But Riku just shook his head as he grabbed his friend around the neck and said, "Sorry Sora, but we have one more place to visit before you can go home, i'm treating you all to a drink at the 7th Heaven, come Axel!" and Axel grumbled as he walked towards Riku, saying, "Yes Master," as he did.

Sora looked at his friend curiously, and Riku smiled as he said, "I promised to give him the hundred he lost, but he's now my servant for the rest of the day," and he patted Sora on the back as they began making their way towards the boat, with Sora saying, "You know something? I'm really glad i don't gamble against you," and Riku could not help but let out a sharp laugh as they made their way towards Mirage Harbor.

The trip back was mostly focused on watching Riku made Axel do several tasks for him. Some simple like getting him a drink or a massaging his feet, though some were clearly Riku making Axel embarrassed, such as making the poor boy flirt with a random man, and also taking a rather menacing man's drink and throwing it overboard. As the boat finally docked, Axel was one of the first to leave the ship, being chased by the muscular man and his equally menacing friends, crying out that it was not worth the hundred dollars he was getting back. Riku had found himself clutching onto the side of the boat laughing, but although Sora had given the situation a little chuckle, he could not help but notice Kairi walking down the plank. Sighing, the boy got off the boat along with his friend, and made his way towards outside the Dark Margin Harbor towards where Kairi was waiting, where Riku hailed one of the taxies and the three got into the vehicle and they were soon making their way onto the main road to Dawn.

Throughout the trip, Riku made several attempts to starting a conversation, which ranged from how close the Struggle match had been to what he should make Axel do once they had reached the 7th Heaven. Although both Sora and Kairi made attempts to keep a conversation alive, they could not help but let the conversation die and sit in the car in silence, until the car had reached their destination, and all three managed to get out.

As Sora looked up at the bar, memories of his unfortunate fight with Kairi lingered back, and Sora shivered as he made his way into the building, as Riku walked up to the bar, Sora not noticing who was working, and reacted in surprise as he said, "Our usual slave, and make sure you don't do anything to my drink," Sora was about to make a comment about how rude that was, until he looked behind his friend and realized who it was.

Wearing a t-shirt with '7th Heaven' written on it, black business-looking pants and a look of tiredness on his face was Roxas, who looked at each of them as he breathed in and said, "No problem _sir_," The last word sounding like poison as he moved into the back area of the bar. Riku could not help but laugh as he made his way up the stairs, followed by Kairi who was rolling her eyes at the boy and a very confused Kairi.

Once they reached the upstairs area, they found that the area was already pretty busy. Sora instantly that a lot of people were near the stage area, where Sora recognized a student from his music class, Neku Sakuraba with a guitar slung over his shoulder playing some relaxing music and muttering lyrics into the mic. Although the place was extremely busy, Sora was surprised to find that an area in the back right was completely empty, with a rather large table with seats up against the wall they could lean their backs on. Sighing, Riku looked to Sora who had a completely confused look on his face.

"What is it Sora?" Riku asked, and Sora responded, "Since when did Roxas work here?" and both Riku and Kairi could not help but let out a little laugh as Riku answered, "He's been working here for about a year now, we always like to make fun of this whenever we see him here," and Sora nodded, wondering how he had gotten the job here as it looked like such a thriving place, they would hire people who were experienced and a lot more excited to be there.

However, his answer came in the form of their order being brought to them, "Here we go, three Poupu-Capuchins," and Sora looked up to see Namine, dressed in a pair of jeans, white shirt and black apron with '7th Heaven' also printed on it. Riku said, "Ahh Namine, Heir to the 7th Heaven Bar, much appreciated,"

"Wait...heir?" Sora asked, completely shocked once again, and another voice answered all of his questions. A woman, in her late 30's walked up to them. This woman had long black silky hair, a smile on her tired face, and was wearing a black pair of jeans and matching tank top. Her blood red eyes looked from face to face with a smile on it, but as she came to Sora, she looked a little weary, "Who is this Namine?"

"Oh, sorry mum, this is Sora Strife, Sora, this is my mother, Tifa Lockhart," and Sora nodded her head as she tapped her chin, stating, "Strife...Strife...is that the new mailman i've seen around,"

Sora nodded his head as he said, "Yeah, thats my dad," and Tifa gave a small smile to her face as she said, "Seems very...nice," and she sighed as Sora looked at her strangely, the others beginning to cough, trying to hide a laugh as Tifa turned to Kairi, "Kairi, good to see you again, will you be coming back to training?"

Sora looked to Kairi as she shook her head, saying as she did, "You taught me everything three years ago, theres nothing else to learn," and Tifa laughed as she said, "True true...well, i'll let you guys go," and Tifa turned around as Namine said, "Oh, mum, can i spend some time with my friends,"

Tifa nodded her head with a smile as she said, "Of course you can," and turned to walk away, before Namine said again, "Is Roxas able to join us,"

Sora watched as the woman slowly turned around, saying as she did, "He has work to do," and with that she turned back and walked down the stairs and out of sight. Namine sighed as she took her seat, looking up to her three friends who all looked at the girl with a tiny bit of fear on their face, "What?" She asked, and Sora and Riku looked to Kairi, who responded what they were all thinking.

"You're mother really does not like Roxas," and Namine gave a small chuckle as she said, "It's a long story,"

"Which you still won't tell us," Riku muttered as he sipped his drink, looking up as he did and could not help but let out a small cough of laughter, causing the other three to look towards the staircase, watching a heavily breathing Axel manage to climb the stairs and cross the area until he had reached their table, taking a few moments of deep breaths before turning to Riku and saying, "You...mother...fucker..." before he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, sweat dripping from his head and landing on the table.

Riku smirked as he said, "The things you will do for money...be glad i'm not making you carry me to my house...on second thoughts..."

But Axels eyes widened as he shook his head and said, "Nope, that's it," and he stood up and made his way towards the stairs, "Where are you going?" Riku shouted back.

"Screw the money! i'm going home, I'm going to sleep, and i'm going to dream about killing you!" Axel shouted back as he passed Roxas, who was busy carrying a coffee as he walked up to the group and said, "Who ordered the normal coffee?"

The group looked around, wondering who had ordered the coffee, but soon all laughed as Axel slowly came back and swiped the coffee out of his friends hand before turning to walk away, but Riku yelled out, "Can you pay for that Axel?" Just as he reached the stairs, he stopped, stood their for a second and grumbled as he turned around and returned back to their table, slouching down as Riku patted him on the head, saying as he did, "Thats a good slave,"

The group soon laughed, and together with an occasional visiting Roxas, the group of teenagers talked, laughed and enjoyed each others company. As the time began to speed up, they realized that they had been their for almost an hour, realizing that it was already nighttime. Riku paid for everyones drinks (as well as relinquishing Axel from his slave duties by giving him the 100munny) they said their goodbyes to Roxas and Namine before they made their way downstairs, and outside into the nice cold air.

Riku managed to call four taxies to come pick them up and return back to their houses. It was not long before the first taxi came up, and the boys offered their taxi to Kairi. She smiled and hugged Riku and Axel, before she turned to Sora, "So, will I see you on Monday?" and Sora nodded his head with a smile, before she walked up and gave him a hug. Although Sora enjoyed it as he closed his eyes, Kairi could not help but stare at Riku as she did, a look of confusion and trouble on her face as Riku merely smiled.

Letting go, Kairi smiled at Sora as she turned around and made her way inside the taxi, as she turned around and waved at her friends, the Taxi drove off and out of sight.

Almost instantly another two taxies came, and Riku smirked as he shook Sora's hand, saying as he did, "I'm glad that things between you two are all good," and with a nod, he got into one of the taxies, where Axel took the other one after saying goodbye to the two. Sora sighed as he watched the vehicles making their way away from the area.

As Sora waited for his taxi, he could not help but think about everything that had happened, the awkward encounter with Kairi, and the making up of their friendship. Although he was glad that it was all done, and that they could now continue on with being friends, he was still wary. He didn't want to snap at Kairi once again, as he did in fact care what she thought about him, and did not want to break that friendship into pieces that could not be fit back together again. As the Taxi made its way towards the boy, he could not help but decide that he was going to master this anger, that he would ensure that it would not hurt his friends again.

But as he stepped into the taxi, he heard it once again, clear as anything, _"Are you still going to continue to blame your misfortunes on anger, these are your true feelings Sora, whether you are ready to admit it or not, that anger that you had against Kairi was all you, and you know it," _Sora groaned as he placed his head against the cold glass, as he looked up, and noticed that he was starring right at Roxas, who had placed on a coat, and was looking at the boy with curiosity mixed with wary, as if he had been wondering what Sora had been thinking about. As the Taxi began to drive off, Sora chanced a look behind him, and noticed that Roxas was still looking at him, and as Sora gave his address to the driver, a thought popped into his head, an impossible crazy thought.

What if Roxas knew about the voice?

**X**

**Hello everyone! i know this is late, but work has absolutely killed me, and this was also a surprisingly long chapter. It brought me back to my days of 12, where i would push for 10,000 words, back when i was young and was able to do that easily.**

**So, hope this chapter was worth the wait, as i can tell you the others will be. Within the next few chapters things will begin to happen, and throughout the others, i can tell you that things are about to escalate in ways you could not possibly imagine. All i can say is get ready for big things :)**

**I recon i have the best readers in the fanfic universe, you guys are simply wonderful you are, those who had subscribed and liked are fantastic, and you who review are just as amazing. I'd like to thank **EthanFlux, Lion5589, Keyblades of Oblivion, DestinyKeyblader28, Random Reader 17, KairiAngel035, KHhero, Bond of Frost, and 13shiroyami. **You guys are the reason that i continue writing...well that and id go crazy if this wasn't on fanfiction xD**

**Also i'd like to thank **Steph **who i know hasn't reviewed by know loves this story due to a drunken reviews face-to-face, you honored me with your drunken words and i hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**I would love to say you won't have to wait a week for the next update, but with working the next three days i cannot confirm anything, all i can say is Subscribe and review, and look out for Chapter 9, where things are about to get****_ very _****interesting.**

**Much love to all of you.**

**Jared Someone.**


	10. Voices Personified: Part I

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_IX_**

**_x_**

_Strife Household._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day _

**_x_**

As the first rays of sun began to peak through the window, Sora snores instantly silenced as he grumbled, slowly opening his eyes as he let out a cough, before he gave a small smile. His night of dreamless sleep was a blessing as he looked at his phone. Smiling that he had a couple of hours before school started, Sora gave a small smile as he felt the warm sun on his body as he opened up the curtains.  
It was now late October, almost a month after the Struggle match and the forgiveness both Sora and Kairi had expressed to each other. Throughout the month, Sora had made friends with numerous other people in his classes, while developing strong bonds between Riku, Kairi, Axel and Namine and he still was the target of advances from Xion. But there was still Roxas.

Ever since the encounter outside the 7th Heaven bar, Sora had tried to keep his distance from the boy, for every time he had managed to see Roxas, he would continue to ask himself whether Roxas could possibly know about his situation, whether he knew about the voice in his head. The way that Roxas had looked at him, his curiosity, his confusion, Sora could see it all every time he caught his eye.

But it was more than that, ever since Sora had begun questioning whether Roxas could possibly know, he could not help but begin to get headaches, at first they had lasted for hours, pains behind the back of his eyes. Some days he would return home, huddled in a corner of his room as he felt a mixture of sweat and fear run through his entire body, but nowadays the pain would be as soft as a small prick of the finger.

It wasn't just the pain that was going away, throughout the past month the voice in his head was making less and less of an appearance, although Sora was unsure why exactly, he did believe that it was because his meditation was working wonders. He found himself engaging in more conversations, in more events with his friends, he found himself opening up about his past life...although there were some things that Sora would be taking to his grave.

As he slowly moved out of bed and onto his computer, he logged on to Recoded and began to scroll through the list of notifications he had, some were merely status updates of his friends, but he soon came across a photo album that he had been tagged in, entitled "A day at the beach". Seeing that this was from Namine, Sora smiled as he opened the album, and began scrolling through the pictures.

The picture was of the group, all in their beach outfits jumping up and down and having fun. Sora was glad that on the Destiny Islands, Summer, Spring and Autumn all were equipped with optimum temperature, which made going to the beach at any time during the day a wonderful experience. Sora smiled as he looked through all of the pictures, watching Kairi laughing and throwing sand at Axel, Himself and Riku laughing on the side. He grew a little saddened when he saw pictures of Kairi and Riku cuddling and laughing, but shook his head as he saw a piggy back photo of Kairi on his shoulders, and Xion on Riku's. A grin formed on his face as he turned his computer off and, grabbed a couple of articles of clothing from his wardrobe and made his way towards the bathroom.

After a few moments given to him to shower and change, he returned back to his room to grab his phone when something caught his eye. He slowly turned to see something that made a smile appear on his face.

Sitting in the corner at the end of his bed was a black guitar case, shiny as anything. Sora slowly walked over it as he saw a small note stuck to the case, tearing it off as he read it aloud, "'Son, you're guitar arrived last night, enjoy, dad'" Sora smirked as he placed the note on the floor before picking up the guitar case and placed it onto his bed, snapping open the locks as he slowly opened up the case, revealed a shiny black Electric guitar. Looking around for the amp that had accompanied it, he could not find it anywhere. Sighing, he slowly picked it up sat down on his bed as he placed it on he knee, strumming random notes, wondering what he should play, before a smile formed on his face as he began strumming and humming along, before his hums began to form words.

_Somebody started thinking about the third line,_

_and maybe someone's saying a prayer for the first time,_

_and that's enough reason to keep me singing my songs,_

_Singing my songs on the other side of the Radio._

Strumming the strings of the guitar, Sora gave a small smile as he placed the guitar down on his bed, sighing as he did. Managing to get up, he looked at his clock, and noticed that he was running a little behind. Grabbing his bag, mobile and wallet, he rushed down stairs to grab food for the day.

As he burst into the kitchen, he hurried to the pantry, completely ignoring his father sitting there looking at him with amusement plastered over his face, "Morning Sora...how are you?" but Sora ignored him as he took one of the nutrition bars out of the containers and stuffed it into his bag, making his way out of the room before he was stopped by Cloud.

"You in a hurry?" Cloud smiled, and Sora was not sure at first if he was being sarcastic or if he had forgotten what day it was, "I'm going to be late for school,"

Cloud chuckled as he pulled a seat out from the table and ushered his son to come and sit down, saying as he did, "No you won't, I promise,"

Sora slowed down for a moment, looking at his father with questions trying to leak their way through his mouth, such as how he could possibly know that he wasn't going to be late? Was he going to offer him a ride to school? No, that wasn't it. Ever since Cloud had started his job, he had not had time to drop Sora off and get to work in time, so what did he mean when he said he would have enough time.  
Sora sat down as Cloud placed the paper down and smiled at him, saying as he did, "So, how's school going for you?"

Sora's eyebrow rose for a moment, before he sweat-dropped and said, "You really want to have this conversation now? While I'm running late for school," But Cloud merely smirked as he shook his head, saying as he did, "There is always time to ask about your life, Sora," But rather then make Sora feel happier, he sighed as he leaned back in his chair, looking around and waiting for his father to let him go.

Cloud smirked as he stood up and walked over towards the coffee machine, pouring himself a cup of hot coffee as he asked, "How did you find the guitar," and for the first time, Sora stopped fidgeting as he gave his dad a genuine smile, saying as he did, "Glad to see that the moving men didn't break my guitar," and Cloud let out a laugh as he took a sip of his coffee, letting out a sigh of relief as he placed the glass down and crossed his hands, "All tuned up?"

Sora nodded his head as he made his way from the chair towards the kitchen bench, taking his fathers coffee and getting a small amount of caffeine into his body as he placed his fathers cup down, and looked up to see a very annoyed look on his face, Sora shrugged as he grabbed his bag and made his way towards the door, when the cough of his father caused him to stop and slowly turn around, "Something else you wanted to talk about dad?"

Cloud could barely keep the smirk from spreading as he said, "The guitar wasn't the only thing that managed to arrive for you,". This statement caused Sora to change his thoughts from one of confusion and frustration to one of inquiry. What was his father talking about?

"What are you talking about dad?" Sora asked, and Cloud smiled as he slowly got up and made his way towards the door. Sora grabbed his bag and swung it around his neck as he began to follow his father, out the door and around to the garage area. Sora looked to see his father leaning against the garage with a smile on his face as he reached into his pocket and withdrew a small shiny device as he clicked the button and stepped back, allowing the Garage to slowly open up. Sora's eyes followed the garage door as it rose and rose, until his eyesight was drawn towards an item in the garage. His eyes widened as his mouth opened up in a gasp, as his mouth slowly turned to the smile.

"Arrived early this morning, cannot believe it didn't wake you up," Sora turned his head towards his father, a grin on his face as he said, "It's finally here," and Cloud could not help but laugh as he placed his hand on his son's shoulder.

"I told you you wouldn't be late for school,"

_..._

The Wednesday brought about a couple of hundred students slowly making their way towards the school, sighing as they did, having only realized that they were merely half way through the week. As many of the students watched one of the busses make their way into the bus depot, some watched as Seifer, Rai and Fuu made their way off the vehicle first, clearly looking sore over something as their heads turned this way and that.

"If my punching bag is not here, i'm not gonna be too happy," Seifer muttered as he looked around, making his way towards the school. Both Rai and Fuu looked around, trying to find any glimpse of the student whose life they had tried to make a living hell for almost two months now. However, as they began walking towards the school, the sound of an engine roaring caused them to turn their heads and looked towards the distance.

As the three saw a small blur heading towards them, the sound began to get louder and louder, and the louder it got, the more students began to turn their heads, until the blur began to form a figure. As it began to glide across the road towards the school, many of the students eyes widened as they realized what was coming towards them.

Quite simply, it was a motorcycle, but not just any motorcycle, it was stretched out, with three wheels, two thin wheels almost joined together in the front and one larger wheel in the back, sitting on the bike was a helmet wearing man, jeans, boots and a biker jacket. As the bike moved into the parking of the school, the students all changed course from the building towards the parking lot.

The doors of the school burst opened, as several other students made their way towards the parking lot. Clearly the news of this vehicle arriving in the school had already made its way over Recoded. Through the crowd Riku and Kairi managed to push their way through the doors and the crowds as they managed to reach the parking lot, the two looked at each other before pushing their way towards the bike, picking up little bits of conversation about what the bike was doing there and who it was.

The two managed to push through the last of the students as the made their way into the circle surrounding the bike. Both looked at the bike as their eyes widened as looked in shock at the vehicle, before they turned back at the biker as he bent his head down as he pushed the helmet off, a tumble of brown bangs escaping and falling into place as Sora grinned, sliding the helmet onto the left hand handle as swinging his leg over, landing both feet onto the ground as he unzipped his jacket revealing his white shirt.

"Sora?" Kairi asked, not sure if it was him, and Sora grinned as he gave Kairi a small hug, Riku too busy walking around the vehicle, inspecting every inch of it, not believing what he was seeing, before he turned back to Sora, "This isn't-"

"Gaian Guardian Corp's Vehicle: Fenrir Model," Sora grin increase as Kairi's eyes widened, not believing Sora for a moment, "But, they're only for former Gaian Guardian Corps, how did you get one?" and Riku nodded his head at Kairi's question, not understanding one little bit of it.

Sora gave a small chuckle as he picked up his helmet and slotted it under his arm, "My Dad was former Guardian Corp, when he was discharged a former friend of his, who was in charge of Transportation Distribution in the Balamb Sector, sent him the bike when he returned home...He gave it to me as a 16th Birthday present, when i got my Fifth Class Transportation License, and it only recently got delivered from the moving company,"

Riku looked in awe at the Fenrir in front of him, he had never seen one before in his life, and wanted to soak it all up, turning to Sora as he did, "Oh! Does it have the expandable compartments?"

Sora smirked as he reached over and pressed a button, stepping back as two slots expanded from the vehicle, revealing several different slots where one could place swords and guns. Riku could not help but shriek a little as he looked over it. Sora and Kairi both laughed as he pressed the same button and the compartments slotted back into place, and the three began to make their way through the crowd, whom Sora had completely forgotten they were there, ooo'ing and ahh'ing at the rare vehicle in front of them as they began to disband, allowing the three friends to make their way towards the school, talking and laughing and inquiring about Sora's father's past as a member of the Guardian Corp.

As the three crossed towards the building, Sora could not help but see Seifer, Rai and Fuu looking at him. Seifer looked like he was about to say something, but Sora turned his head towards Kairi, giving her a soft smile, instantly ignored the fact that the three were standing there, and as his soft smile turned into a grin, looking at Kairi gave him a sense of calmness, and for a moment he forgot about everything that he had ever gone through, or everything that he might go through, and for that moment he was living in the present, with Kairi by his side and her bright face and features clearing his darkened aurora.

Seifer watched as the three entered the school, before he turned his head towards the Fenrir, growling as he did. He was angry, for the simple reason that Sora was happy. He couldn't explain why he was angry, and he wasn't going to try to explain it. All he knew was that he did not like the fact that Sora could smile. He wanted to see misery, he wanted everyone to be unhappy, he was the only one that deserved to be even remotely happy, and as the crowds began to thin, Seifer looked towards the Fenrir motorcycle, and a thought came into his head, a smirk appeared on his face, and the he turned to Rai and Fuu as he began to walk inside, determined to go through with the plan that was already coming together in his mind.

_Lunch Time..._

Sora stretched as he yawned, clearly showing how tired he was as he walked out of his Chemistry class with Riku next to him, who was typing something into his phone before he sent it, saying as he did, "You mind if i borrow your bike this saturday?"

Sora turned to his friend with an eyebrow raised as he said, "Why?" and Riku just shrugged as he mumbled something, looking to Sora who would not break his eye contact with the boy, before Riku sighed, "Look, i want to borrow it so i can take this girl out on a date, is that so wrong?"

Sora merely laughed as he said, "Sorry Riku, i'm the only one who rides that bike," and Riku groaned as he said, "Great, now i'm going to have to find someone else who own's a Fenrir,"

Sora smirked as he opened the doors of the Shield Building, saying as he did, "Yeah, good luck with that," and together the two made their way outside into the fresh air.

Many of the students who were making their way towards the cafeteria noticed Sora walking, and were not afraid to go up to the boy and complement his mode of transportation. Sora had been getting a lot of these complements all day, and although he had been a little nervous at the sudden popularity, he was now smiling and thanking each person for saying so. Of course, most of the people were now trying to do what Riku had tired and get a turn on the bike for him, but Sora had maintained a strict 'I'm the only one who rides it' rule, and was not going to break it for anyone.

As they crossed the compound, making their way to the glass building, talking about the homework their Science teacher Mr. Gold had left them, Sora looked past his friend and noticed a familiar brown haired girl making her way towards them. Sora stopped and made to wave at the girl, but the moment their eyes met, Selphie had instantly diverted her gaze, turned around and walked back into the building that she had just come from; Sword Building. Thinking it was a little weird, Sora slowed down, and was tempted to follow her, but a slap on the back from Riku and a statement to get him into the Cafeteria pushed his curiosity out of his brain and a smile broke free as the two made their way towards the building.

It didn't take long for them to locate Axel, Roxas and Kairi all sitting down eating lunch. As soon as they had reached their table, Kairi jumped up and gave both Sora and Riku big hugs, opening up a spot to allow the two to seat, which they both did, Axel beginning a new conversation of a topic that was still popular, "So, Sora, saw the Fenrir, very nice, very nice,"

"Thanks Axel," Sora grinned as he turned to Roxas, who gave a small nod as he stood up, "Sorry guys, gotta go, Namine said she wanted me for something in regards to her art assignment,"

"I didn't know they needed nude models in art assignments," Axel snorted, and he promptly received a slap over the back of his head. Grumbling, he bid the boy goodbye as Roxas waved to the others before he quickly walked away.

"I didn't know Namine had an art assignment," Kairi muttered, but she merely shrugged as she continued eating her sandwich, before she turned to Riku and Sora, "So what have you got next?" and Riku proudly said, "Woodwork, should be a good time,"

"Yeah, Mr. Rose is always fun on a wednesday afternoon, wonder if his wife will come visit again with her photography class," Kairi smirked, referencing to Briar "Aurora" and Philip Rose, the young teaching couple at Twilight Heights High, Philip teaching wood and Metalwork, Aurora teaching Photography.

"Its a miracle one of her students hasn't blinded some poor man or woman and caused a serious injury," Sora stated, and Axel scoffed, "You don't remember me almost losing my pinky because of that?"

"Yeah, but...that's you Axel," Sora smiled causing Kairi and Riku to laugh, and Axel sweat-dropped, "Careful Sora, you've only been here for two months, don't think that you can get away with comments like that,"

Sora smirked as he returned his attention to Kairi, "Oh, and to answer your question, I've got a double free now," which caused the three to look at Sora with confusion, Sora taking a few bites out of his protein bar before he noticed that they were staring at him, saying as he did, "What?"

"If you have last two periods off, why are you still here?" Riku asked, and Sora responded saying, "I would love to, but you have to stay inside the grounds until the final bell," and once again, the look of confusion between Riku and Kairi continued, whereas Axel let out a sharp cough.  
"Which idiot told you that?" Riku asked, and Sora pointed to Axel, saying, "Axel told me the very...first..." But as Sora began to piece everything back together, Axel hurriedly stood up and said something about doing nude modeling for Namine before he took off out the doors and out of sight.

"That son of a bitch, you mean to tell me for the past two months i've been sitting here when i could have been going home!" Sora cried in outrage as both Riku and Kairi burst out laughing. Sora slapped his palm over his head as he said, "Well, now i'm going to go to my bike, run down Axel and make my way back home,"

"Wait," Kairi managed to get out throughout the laughter as Sora made to stand up, and Sora waited as Kairi wiped a tear away from her eye as she said, "I'll come with you, I need to pick up something from Miss Blanchard's classroom anyway, might as well say goodbye," and Sora smiled as he nodded his head, shaking hands with Riku as both Sora and Kairi made their way out of the cafeteria.

"I cannot believe you fell for that, he's been saying how he'd always want to fool someone with that joke," Kairi smirked as they made their way through Sword Building, Sora stopped at his locker and pushed the key in, opening it up, grabbed his helmet and locked the locker once again, stating as he did, "How was I suppose to know? I was the new kid, you could have told me every Thursday morning we have to run around the school five times and I probably would have believed you,"

"And don't you think it would have been weird that you would have been the only student running?" Kairi asked him, and Sora stopped for a moment before saying, "You have more faith in my deductive reasoning then I will ever have Kai," and he nudged her as they both laughed, making their way out of the door.

"Well, at least you are able to go home and get some sleep you lucky-" But as they turned into the parking lot, Kairi stopped when she noticed that Sora had frozen, looking towards something. Kairi followed his eyes to what he was looking at, and instantly gasped as he hand reached for her mouth in shock.

The bike was lying on its side, and looked absolutely destroyed. As the two slowly made their way towards it, they could see scratches and dents, Sora noting the rocks that were lying to the side. They found themselves standing right next to it as tears began to well up in Sora's eyes, key scratches marking the entire bike. Kairi looked at the boy as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

His bike...his bike that was from his dad, probably one of his most prized possessions, was now lying in the parking lot destroyed. It looked like he would still be able to ride it, but Sora expected that. Whoever had done this wanted him to ride the bike again, but looking as destroyed as they could possibly get it. Sora could feel his whole body shaking as tears dripped onto the bike. Kairi wrapped her arms around him, trying to get him too look away, but his eyes continued to stare in horror at his destroyed bike.  
"It's ok Sora, we'll find out who did this, we'll tell Principal Merlin, he'll issue punishment and they will pay for the damages, just look away now Sora," Kairi whispered into his ear as she squeezed him tight.

But Sora already knew who had done this. His left hand which had until then been loosely holding the helmet now gripped it with such force, even Kairi could not fail to hear the small cracking sounds coming off the chin area of the helmet. Kairi stood back and looked at Sora, his eyes closed, his entire body shaking, not of tears or sadness, but of anger.

And suddenly he turned around, slowly making his way back towards the school, like a man on a mission to kill. Kairi began to walk after him, her words of control lost as he could only hear one voice now, a voice that he had not heard for some time now.

_"He broke your fathers bike Sora, that Bike has been with you for almost two years now, it was your fathers prized possession, his only reminder that he had served the country that he loved so much, and you have let that bully destroy it, this is all on you Sora, make it right...Kairi was right, he will pay for what he has done, now do it,"_

And for once, Sora was not trying to get the voice out of his head, he was agreeing with it. The teenager responsible had to answer to what he had done, and Sora was going to ensure that he would not forget it again.

"YOU!" Sora screamed out, and every student who was in the hallway looked from the angered teenager to who he was screaming at; a Teenager with blonde hair, Cyan colored eyes, a smirk on his face and surrounded by his friends Rai and Fuu.

Sora began to walk towards Seifer, his eye contact being cut as Seifer motioned to Rai to take over the situation. Rai cracked his knuckles as he began to walk to Sora. Kairi stood back, looking at the sheer size of Rai, and the fact that Sora was no match for the boy. She was about to yell out to Sora to stop, but she froze at what happened next.

With a force that was unbelievable, Sora swung his helmet towards Rai, it flew through the air and connected with his head. His head swung back, distracted for but a second. That second was enough time for Sora, he took two quick steps as his fist connected with Rai's nose. Everyone in the area heard the crack as Rai flew about a foot in the air before landing at Fuu's feet, who proceeded to step back into the crowd.

Everyone was shocked that Sora had managed to take down the man in two fowl swoops, but none were as shocked as Seifer was, staring down at his friend who was currently bleeding from his nose. Seifer had enough time to look up as Sora grabbed him by the collar, and threw him with the same force he had given his helmet into the lockers, his entire body bounced off the locker, the metal 'bang!' echoed throughout the room as Seifer began to fall to the ground, but did not have time as Sora grabbed him by the cuff, slamming him against the locker again as he held him there.

"You broke my bike!" Sora growled in a soft voice, while a crowd began to gather around the situation. Kairi pushing her way through the crowd, as she made it into the clearing, looking to Sora's other side as Riku, Axel and Xion all pushed their way from different sides of the circle, and began to plead with Sora to stop. But as Sora lowered his head, their voices tried to break through, another voice was whispering in his ear, egging the angered child on.

"Don't do it Sora!"

_"He broke your fathers motorcycle,"_

"Stop Sora!"

_"He deserves this for all he has done,"_

"You'll get in trouble!"

_"He doesn't deserve mercy!"_

"He's not worth it!"

_"Show him your power,"_

"...Do it Sora,"

A grin formed on Sora's face as he slowly began to look up, saying as he did, "Now i'll break you," and Seifer, who was struggling to breath, looked down as the bangs in Sora's face began to rustle and move as their eyes locked together, Seifer's widened as for but a moment, he could have sworn that Sora's eyes had turned from the Cerulean to a bright Gold. With his free hand, Sora hand formed a fist as he leaned back.

"MR STRIFE!"

Sora stopped moving his fist, but continued to hold Seifer in his place as a elder man pushed his way through the students, wearing a sharp black suit and supporting a white beard with black eyes, Principal Merlin screeched, "Put Mr Almasy down!" and for a moment, Sora held his fist in place, almost looking like he was going to disobey the Principal and punch Seifer anyway. Sora waited for a moment, before he forced the fist towards Seifer, missing him but millimeters as he put it into the locker. Seifer's eyes widened from the fist next to him to Sora, grin gone and his eyes back to normal. Sora dropped the boy as he landed next to Rai, and stayed where he was standing until Merlin said, "My Office! Now!"

Sora waited a few more moments, but let out an angry sigh as he turned and made his way towards Merlin. Almost all the students looked from Sora to the locker he had just punched, and saw that it now had an indent in there that could fit a fist easily. Sora ignored everyones gaze as he brushed past Riku, who was looking at his friend with a small amount of fear but plenty of sorrow for him. As he continued walking, he looked up, and for the second time that day, his eyes connected with Selphie, who stared at him for a moment, and muttered out in horror, "It's true...it's all true..."

Sora didn't wait for an explanation for what she meant, as he continued following the headmaster, not concentrating on where he was going, as they turned a corner here and there before they reached a door. Opening it, Merlin pointed with his head for Sora to enter, and Sora slowly trudged in as he sat down. For the first time, Sora wondered where his bag had gone, thinking that he must have dropped it while he was walking trying to find Seifer. In fact, everything about locating Seifer had been a blur, he suppose he had just kept walking until he could find him.

Sora looked up too see that Merlin was now sitting at his desk, his mouth just a thin line as he said, "I don't appreciate bullying Mr. Strife, nor destruction of property,"

"Sir, Seifer was-"

"Silence!" Merlin yelled, and Sora fell silent once again, before he continued, "You have acted in a way that Twilight Heights High does not appreciated, i would have thought in a new school, and for your last year you would try and do the right thing for your grades, not pick a fight with students,"

"With all due respect sir, Seifer damaged my property, an irreplaceable Fenrir bike that was my fathers-"

"And you thought you would take the law into your own hands and deal your own brand of justice did you? Tell me Mr. Strife, do you have any proof that Seifer did this too you,"

Sora stopped for a moment. No, he didn't have any physical proof, all he had was two months of being pushed around by the teenager, Seifer had been the only one who had a problem with Sora, he knew it was him...but without proof, he couldn't prove it,"

"I thought as much...for what you have done Mr. Strife, Im suspending you for one week, if an outbreak like this happens again, i will have no choice but to expel you, i shall call your father and you will have to pay for the damages of the school, dismissed,"

Sora's hands found his head as he sighed, His father. He didn't care about the munny he would have to pay for school property but when his father found out what had happened, he would surely face a wrath no teenager could endure. He could feel the anger swell up in his stomach once again as he forced himself out of the chair, and walked out of the door, slamming it against its hinges, not caring that small cracks had appeared on the window of the door.

Sora kept his head down, not looking at anyone as he pushed past people. He didn't even know who was his friends and who was random strangers. As he reached the doors he pushed himself out of the building, down towards the parking lot, where he began to hear his name being called out. But he just ignored it as he made it to his destroyed bike, pulling it up and getting on. Not even worrying where his helmet was, Sora started the Fenrir, the wheels turning and drowning out the now several calls of "Sora!" as the bike made its way out of the school, and soon out of its sight.

**_x_**

**_Song: _**_Other Side of the Radio - Brad Johner_

**Well well well, seems like Sora's true rage has finally come out, but believe me when i tell you that you have seen nothing yet. Hope you all enjoyed the first part of this chapter, i decided that id do it in two parts because hey, i'm that evil xD**

**i want to thank all the people who have subscribed, and also reaching a record of 10 reviewers for this chapter, you guys are all wonderful, and i wonder if we can beat the record of 10? anyway, a huge thanks to **13Shiroyami, lion5589, Drunken Steph, DestinyKeyblader28, Kairiangel035, Random Reader 17, EthanFlux, khheroxasoray, Keyblades of Oblivion and Bond of Frost.

**I won't have as much work next week as i have for the past couple of weeks so expect an earlier update, and if your extremely lucky i might post part II tomorrow, but don't hold your breath guys. Tata you lovely people**

**Jared Someone**


	11. Voices Personified: Part II

**_J _**_enova _

**_x_**

**_X_**

**_x_**

_Destiny Islands_

_Present Day_

**_x_**

The wind blew through the bangs of Sora's head, but the chills that should have been going down his spine were no existent, there was too much on the teenagers mind, too much to think about, about what had happened. His whereabouts and his surrounds were just barely on the boys mind, and he was thankful that there wasn't as much traffic on the road that there should have been as it gave him more time to be left alone.

Sora didn't register the small portion of people pointing and snickering on the state of his vehicle, which was covered in scratches, dents and key marks all over it, Hie could feel the pain of a headache sitting behind his eyes, and every moment that he stopped at a set of lights, Sora would rub his eyes, as if trying to get rid of the headache that way, which would only cause him relief for but a few moments before that pain would return. It was much worse then anything that he had felt over the past few months, indeed Sora could not recall that he had experienced a pain like this ever.

Sora's mind broke away through thinking about the pain as he looked around, and found that he had reached his street. Leaving his bike at the side of his street, he pushed himself off and violently ripped his jacket zipper down. As he burst opened the door, Sora slammed it shut before he threw his jacket down on the ground. He made his way up to his room, and again opened and slammed the door shut for the pleasure of no one but himself.

Sora held his hand to his head as the voice echoed throughout his head, in words that Sora could not understand, not from lack of knowledge, but merely because the pain in his head was more important then what was happening. Sora closed his eyes, he felt himself becoming sick as he held his hand to the wall, breathing coming heavily to the boy.

To think that morning he had felt fine, happy even, it was wrong that he could drop from that happiness so quickly, to be now so angry, hatred pulsing through his veins. Sora's thoughts came to Seifer. Why had he done it? What had Sora ever done to the boy to cause Seifer to do this? Any explanation was fruitless, as Sora raised his fist and slammed it against the wall, knowing exactly how hard he would have to punch the wall to put a hole it in, and aiming just a little under that.

Sora breathed heavy, not moving his arm as he just left it there against the wall. A smile formed on his face, and he moved it again, punching the wall for the second time, again somehow knowing what force would break it and giving it a little less force then that. He felt good to take his anger out on the wall, and continued to do it, as he did he found himself thinking of Seifer, and soon he wasn't aiming at the wall, but aiming at Seifer, again and again, before he gave one final punch and managed to out his hand through the wall.

He breathed out for a second, before he began to laugh, as if he found the fact that he had just damaged his wall funny. Sora pulled his arm out of the hole, bits of dust coming out with him as he looked at his hand, seeing that it was completely fine once again. Sora could not feel any pain, and this caused him to laugh once again, and he shook his head and said out loud, "I should have killed him when I had the chance,"

"...then why didn't you?"

Sora's eyes widened as he head the voice, but he froze. Something was different, the voice was usually inside his head, echoing throughout. But for the first time, the voice was now _outside _of his head, entering through his ears. He could hear the voice, it's cold cool sound echoing not through his head, but through his room.

Sora felt the temperature of the room drop as he felt a presence in his room. The feeling that Sora got when he realized that he wasn't the only one in his room. Sora felt his hands clamming up as he slowly began to turn around, and as he turned his head, looking straight up, his back hit the wall as his eyes widened.

Standing before him was a teenager, a teenager that looked exactly like him; same height, same build, same spiky hair that he had, but he was different in a few key aspects. For one, instead of the chocolate brown colour that Sora had, his hair was pitch black. His eyes were gold instead of the cerulean that Sora had, and his skin colour, instead of being tanned, was completely pale. Sora noticed that he was dressed exactly like Sora, even wearing the same biker jacket that he had been previously wearing with one key difference. Instead of the white shirt, it was now the same colour of his hair, black.

Sora was too frozen to let out a scream, and too curious to call for help. Sora shook his head, wondering whether he was dreaming or not, but before he could ask a question, the mysterious teenager said, "Well...this escalated quicker then I thought,"

"...are you real?" Sora managed to choke out, and the teenager smirked as he responded, the same voice as Sora though calm, cool and bone-chilling, "What do you think?"

Very slowly, Sora pushed himself off of the wall, finding his feet and trying to recall how to move, Sora took a few steps before he was facing this copy of himself, before he reached out with his hand, trying to touch the arm of the boy. But his hand passed through the boys arm as Sora looked up, the teenager smirking.

"Are you a ghost?" Sora asked, and the boy let out a sharp laugh as he said, "Try again,"

Sora stayed still for a moment, before he slowly said again, "A hallucination?" And the boy raised his hands as he slowly began to clap, echoing throughout the room as he said, "You're not as stupid you look Sora,"

Sora waited for but a moment, looking at the gold eyes as he asked the question that had been burning in his mind since the figure had appeared, "Who are you?"

The figure returned the stare into Sora's eyes as he said, "You don't know who I am? I'm a psychological hallucination manifesting in your mind Sora, I don't have a name...but you can call me the name I was given so long ago...you can call me...Vanitas,"

Sora gasped as he reached for his head, feeling the sweat pouring down his forhead. Closing his eyes and opening again, he watched as his voice personified looked at him with a smirk on his face. Sora coughed as he said, "The name you were given?"

Vanitas looked at Sora as he said, "...You don't remember do you?" and Sora looked back at Vanitas, shaking his head. Vanitas could not help but let out a small laugh as he looked at Sora, saying as he did, "How funny it is the human brain, all this information locked in corridors never to be accessed again..."

"This cannot be real," Sora coughed as he placed his hand on the bed, taking deep breaths, and Vanitas looked at him, stating as he did, "The perception that reality is normal and simple is never the case Sora, once you learn that, you'll be such a happier person...like you were happy taking your anger out on Seifer, or-"

"Stop," Sora muttered as he felt himself about to be sick, he kept his mouth close as his clammy hands reached for a tissue box on his head, wiping his head again and again as he looked up at Vanitas, making sure only words were going to come out of his mouth and not something else, he said, "Why are you here?"

"You mean why am i not just a small voice in your head Sora?" Vanitas smirked at the boy, and Sora looked down as he nodded his head, "I've been here ever since you were able to think Sora, growing throughout your entire body, laying dormant until you needed someone to tell you what to do, I'm that dark sense in you that tells you too attack, to harm...like when you were harming Seifer,"

Sora felt the sickness coming again, his thoughts returning back to lunch time, where he had almost punched Seifer, and again to a few moments ago when he had put his hand through the wall. Sora remembered the smile that had spread on his lips, the laughter that had echoed out, and his eyes widened as he placed his hands to his mouth, saying as he did, "That was you?"

"Of course it was, someone like you couldn't do that, you needed someone to take control, and thats what i did," Sora felt himself sweating as he jumped from his bed, backing towards the door, but froze as Vanitas continued to talk, his hands not able to reach the doorknob, "You could never do what i suggested, although you came close Sora, I was almost proud of you, but you just couldn't do it...so I had to take over,"

"You're the devil, i'm possessed aren't I," Sora felt the shaking all throughout his body as Vanitas let out a sharp bone-chilling laugh, saying as he did, "I'm the closest thing to a devil there is Sora, and there's no way you can get rid of me,"

Sora could feel the presence getting stronger, as he tried to shake the pain that was developing throughout his body away. As he felt the anger swelling up, he thought of everything that had happened, he thought of Seifer and what he had done, but then he thought of someone else. He thought of Kairi, how much she had tried, he thought of Riku, his best friend, and even began to think of others, like Axel, like Xion, like Namine and even Roxas.

And for the first time, Sora looked Vanitas with a determination in his face, shaking his head, "No, i'll never let you surface again, never, i'll meditate harder then ever, i'll defeat you,"

At this statement, Vanitas let out a laugh, that made Sora cower for just a moment, before he looked back at the boy, "Thats cute, You think that some deep breathing exercises and thinking of something else will actually work? Don't you get it Sora, i'm apart of you, just like your anger of Seifer, your passion for Xion...your love for Kairi, those are all you...i push them further then most, but they begin in your mind Sora,"

Vanitas stood over the boy, who was now laying on the floor with his back to the wall, Sora could feel heat from his body increase as his breathing became heavier, Sora kept his head down as Vanitas whispered into his ear, "No matter what you think, or do...you know there is no way you can get rid of me, I'm your conscience, your wrong, I'm _your _devil Sora...and you have no Angel,"

Sora shook his head, muttering 'not true' over and over again, as he felt hot tears escape his face and land on the ground, his thoughts turned to despair just as quickly as he had tried to comfort himself, his arms around him, he felt himself alone, noise, sight, everything was shut off as he felt more tears drop again and again, until he felt someone touch his shoulder.

Sora looked up to see an older blonde haired man looking towards him, his bright blue eyes piercing through his as Sora looked away, trying to stop the tears from falling. As he looked around, there was no sign of Vanitas, only of Cloud as he wrapped his arms around his son, saying, "It's ok Sora, it's ok son,"

"I failed dad, i let it get to me," Sora sobbed into his fathers shoulder, and although he felt Cloud sitting next to his with his arms around him, he felt more alone then he ever had before, like there was no one around that could understand, he hated that he could not truly talk to someone about what was going on, Sora didn't know anyone else with his condition, but he wished, oh how he wished that there was someone that could tell him how to cope.

After a few moments, Sora felt his father looking at him, and Sora forced his head to look up into the bright orbs that was his fathers eyes, as Cloud said, "Sora Strife, let me tell you something that has been true since the day i adopted you almost 5 years ago now, you could never disappoint me...ever,"

Sora took a few gulps as he cleared the tears from his eyes, saying as he did, "You're bike dad, i'm so sorry, and the school, and the wall, i'm-"

"You're still here Sora, not being dragged to a police station, it's ok, i'll cover the cost, and i'll talk to your Principal, see if we cannot knock a few days off that suspension, I'm just happy your safe," Cloud smiled as he kissed his son's forehead.

"...I knocked a kid out dad, someone whose been bullying me, and his friend...the one whose been giving me real trouble...i had him against the locker, and all i wanted was punch him until he was dead...i wanted to kill him...what is wrong with me dad?" But his father shook his head as he said, "You're a tiny bit different Sora, but you still have a loving warm side that i see each and every day, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you, and if i was in you're place i would have done the same thing...and if i ever see the kids dad i might have a few words to him about raising a child,"

Sora let out a weak wet chuckle as he looked at Cloud, and Cloud looked down at his son with a smile on his face, saying, "I'm really glad you're a Strife, they have a lot to live up to, and i think you're doing a fine job in doing so," and both father and son let out a laugh as the doorbell sounded, causing Sora to jump and Cloud to look out, saying as he did, "Don't worry, i'll see who it is," and Cloud slowly got up as he quietly managed to walk towards the door of his bedroom and was soon walking down the stairs.

Sora made his way towards the window, trying to find out who was at the door, but with the positioning of his window, it was impossible to see who was at the door. He heard someone bound up the stairs, and Sora turned around, hurriedly trying to wipe away any of the tears that were still on his face, but sighed in relief as Cloud re-entered the room, saying as he did, "Sora, theres a young lady waiting downstairs for you, i'm not sure whether you're ready to see her though?"

"What does she look like?" Sora asked, and Cloud thought for a moment before he said, "Auburn hair, violet eyes, worried look on her face,"

"Kairi," said Sora as Cloud rose an eyebrow, "Trouble?" but Sora shook his head as he said, "Just give me a few moments,"

Cloud smiled as he nodded his head, as Sora changed the tear-stained white t-shirt to a maroon dress-shirt that was in his cupboard. Sora quietly made his way from his bedroom to the bathroom, where he cleaned himself up a bit, ran a comb through his hair and made sure that his eyes had returned to a normal looking colour instead of the puffy red they had been previously. Nodding his head, Sora had to take a few breaths as he walked out, where he noticed that Cloud had placed his jacket at the top end of the banister. Putting it on, and giving himself a few more seconds, Sora slowly began to make his way down the stairs.

As he walked into the living room, he saw Kairi sitting in one of the chairs, her bag sitting next to her and a worried look on her face. Sora let out a small cough as he dug his hands into his pockets, and Kairi looked up, "Sora," She said softly as she ran up and gave the boy a hug. Sora returned the hug as he whispered, "Hey Kai,"

"I was so worried after you just took off, i can't believe what's happened," Kairi released Sora after several seconds, and Sora bent his head down, "I'm sorry Kairi, i was so upset after what had happened that I-" but Kairi shook her head as she said, "No, you don't need to apologize at all, it was a little scary but it's ok,"

Sora nodded his head as he walked over to the sofa and sat down, Kairi following suit as she said, "You really think it was Seifer that did it Sora?" and Sora nodded his head, saying as he did, "Who else? I don't have a problem with anyone else, the school has a policy on security, I don't see who else it could have been,"

"Shame we can't do a CSI investigation, we might get the proof then," and Sora could not help but let out a small laugh, followed by Kairi, and the two teenagers laughed for about a minute before they died down, and Sora realized something as he turned to Kairi, "How did you know where i live,"

"Riku," Kairi smiled, and Sora smirked as he said, "Did he use his SEED location programing or did he remember from the last time he was here," and Kairi could not help but let out a small laugh as she sighed, before she remembered something, and reached for her bag, saying as she did, "Oh, before i forget..." Kairi grasped onto an item and pulled it up, revealing Sora's helmet.

Sora's eyes widened as he slowly reached over, looking at the helmet in awe as Kairi said, "When you left, i grabbed it and got Riku to drop me off after school...I'm really glad that you didn't accidentally wrap yourself round a tree, else you would have killed yourself," and Sora let out a small smile as he said, "Thank you Kairi," and both the teenagers embraced, a little longer then Sora had anticipated, though Sora didn't mind as he enjoyed the smell of Poupu in her hair.

A small cough caused both the teenagers to break apart, and Sora looked up too see Cloud leaning against the wall that connected the kitchen with the living room, staring at the two with a coffee in his hands and a smug look on his face. Kairi instantly went bright red as Sora gave the man a glare as he thought to himself _This cannot get any worse_, but Cloud could not help but sip his coffee as he said, "Didn't mean to interrupt you but i thought you might like to know there's someone waiting for you," and he pointed to behind the two.

Sora and Kairi both slowly turned around, and only grew redder as they say Riku, Axel, Namine, Xion and Roxas all looking from the window, Riku with a huge grin on his face, Axel with his thumbs up, Namine with a small smile on her face, Xion looking at the two with a look that would have made anyone think that the two just had sex, and Roxas looking indifferent.

Sora and Kairi both slapped their hands to their heads as they slowly got up, Kairi grabbing her bag and Sora sarcastically thanking Cloud for shutting the curtains. As Sora opened the door, Sora gestured for Kairi to go out first, and Kairi thanked him quietly as they both made their way out of the house.

Riku went right up to Sora and hugged him, saying as he did, "It's alright brother, we're here for you," and Sora clapped him on the back as he said, "Thanks for that Riku," and moved onto Axel, who looked at him with kindness as he shook the mans hand and complemented him for the strong punch he had given Rai, as Kairi walked up to Riku.

"Well, that looked like some hug to me," He winked, and Kairi merely rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face as she looked towards Axel and Sora, the former which was now in a headlock for his earlier comment about not being able to leave school grounds during free periods. Once he had hugged Xion and Namine, both who said they were glad that he was alright, he reached Roxas.

Both stood staring at the other, and Roxas let out a deep breath as he said, "It was out of line what Seifer did, I hope you're alright," and he held out his hand. Sora was not sure what he should do, as the last time they had made any contact Sora had gotten pain in his arm, but he shook his head as he grasped the boys hand, and both of them felt nothing as Roxas nodded his head, Sora retracting it as he said, "Thanks Roxas,"

"So, how long are you away from school?" Riku asked, and Sora muttered that he was gone for a week, the reactions were mixed, from Xion saying she would have to go back to skipping math lessons, to Axel who thought that Sora was a lucky bastard for being able to miss a week of school, to which Sora merely rolled his eyes and said, "Alright Axe, whatever you say,"

As everyone began laughing at Axel, they heard a car beeping its horn. At first they thought it was a driver who thought they were being noisy in a quite neighborhood, but Roxas' eyes widened as the car pulled up in front of the house, and Riku instantly recognized the car.

"Hey Roxas, isn't that your mother," and Roxas slowly nodded his head as the door opened, and the woman got out of the car.

Sora could not believe that that was Roxas mother, the woman looked in her late 30's, and was extremely beautiful. Her brunette hair had been tired up and was loosely hanging behind her back, her green eyes were as bright as anything, and she was dressed in a black dress skirt, red blouse and wearing a white lab coat. As she began to walk up, she yelled out, "Roxas honey, what are you doing here," In a voice that Sora swore that he had heard before, it sounded exactly like the announcement voice both from the Ferry Sora had boarded to Mirage Arena, as well as the Struggle announcer they had been too. But it couldn't be...could it?

Roxas face-palmed himself as he said, "Mum, you really know how to embarrass me, you know that," and Roxas' mother grinned as she said, "Yes i know, thats my job as a mother dear," and she looked up as she said "Hi guys,"

"Hey Dr. Gainsborough," the all chimed, but she waved her hand at them, "Do you see a hospital anywhere? call me Aerith please," as she grinned at all of them, before she stopped at Sora and raised her eyebrow, "but you don't look familiar at all, and between you and me that is saying something,"

"Sora ma'am, nice to meet you," Sora extended his arm, and Aerith grinned as she introduced herself, "Dr. Aerith Gainsborough, Twilight General, pleasure's all mine, new here?"

"Two months," Sora smiled, and she 'ahh'ed', saying, "Well that explains it, i've known these kids all their life, seeing as most of them come to me when they're sick or unwell,"

"Wouldn't know anything about that, i've got a pretty good Immune system," Sora laughed, and Aerith smiled as she said, "So what are you all doing out here? I was on my way to pick Roxas up when i noticed him standing here with you lot,"

But before Roxas could say anything, a call came from Sora's house, "Sora! have you seen my sword? i was sure that i left it in the garage," and Cloud walked out from his house to the gathering of teenagers, before he stopped when he noticed Aerith standing there, "Oh, hello there...who are you?"

Sora looked at Cloud who was starring at Aerith with a weird smile on her face, and then turned to Aerith who had the same expression on her face, "Dr. Gainsborough-I mean, Aerith...pleasure to meet you," and she extended her hand nervously as Cloud took a moment before he grasped it, saying in an equally nervous manner, "Cloud...pleasure as well,"

The teenagers looked from one to the other, realizing what was going on right there, all took two steps back as they watched what was going on, "So, new here huh?" Aerith let out a small grin, and Cloud nodded his head as he placed his hands in his pockets, saying as he did, "Yeah, and you're a Doctor, right?" and Aerith nodded her head in response.

"Well, i think i need a physical doctor, you wouldn't know where i could get one," Aerith couldn't help but giggle at the comment, and Sora could not help but almost feel sick. Was his father trying to flirt with Aerith?

"Well, I can always give you one, but first you'll have to show me that sword collection some time," and this comment caused the group to swap to Aerith with eyes widened, and Roxas slapped himself on the head once again as the same thought went through all of their minds; had Aerith just made a sexual pun? No, she was talking about the swords that Cloud had been talking about earlier, they were sure of it.

"I could show you right now," Cloud smiled, and this was the final straw.

"Gee, we need to get home now don't we mum, get ready for tonight don't we, that Doctor thing," Roxas yelled, and he grabbed his mother as he dragged her towards the car, as she managed to yell out, "It was lovely to meet you Cloud!"

"Likewise," Cloud called out, and in a matter of seconds Roxas had thrown his mother into the car, and she was soon driving her son who was ushering her down the street, and out of sight.

Silence was throughout the area, as Kairi looked towards Riku before saying, "I think it's time you took me home Riku," and Riku looked at her for a moment wondering what she was talking about, before she nudged him in the ribs, taking away the air in his stomach as he coughed, "Yeah, time to go guys,"

Kairi smiled as Sora let out a cough that sounded like a laugh, as Kairi gave Sora a hug, stating that she would come visit him as soon as possible. As she waved, Sora watched as she lead Riku towards his car, where both got in and out of sight.

Sora returned to Xion, Axel and Namine, as Xion managed to get off the phone as she said, "You know Sora, i'm glad that you have that strength, something about you standing up to the bully just makes you even more sexy," and she winked as she looked to her right, and Sora looked down the street as she noticed a Limousine making its way towards the house. Sora's eyes widened as he watched the Limo stop, and a man get out, dressed as a stereotypical butler as he said, "Miss Wise's lift back home," In a Posh Spiran accent, and Sora looked to her.

"What the hell is this?" Sora asked, and Xion just smiled as she leaned against Sora, saying as she did, "Another time Sora," and Pecked him on the cheek as she turned to Axel and Namine, "You guys want a lift?" and the two looked at each other before nodding their heads, saying their goodbye's to Sora, before they got in the vehicle, and before Sora knew it they were away.

Sora sniffed as he turned to his father, who was still looking at the same place he had said goodbye to Aerith. Sora waited for a few moments, before he realized that Cloud was in his own little world. Shaking his head, Sora slapped his dad on the back and Cloud jumped a little as he said, "Pleasure was all..." But stopped when he looked around and noticed that she was no longer there.

Sora could not help but laugh at his father as he said, "Smooth Mr. Strife," and he turned around and made his way back into the house, Cloud sighing as he turned around and followed his son, closing the door on the cold air as the light left the end of a very long, disturbing and interesting day.

**_X_**

**Wow, doesn't it feel so good when you update within a day? gotta say its a bloody fantastic feeling xD so, looks like things are escalating fairly quickly now, and with the voice now having a name, i can tell you know that things are about to get very very fantastic. I'll also say that we are about to learn a lot more about Sora's past, which i am super excited to write xD**

**A short thank you to those who got in early to review, which are **Lion5589, DestinyKeyblader28, khheroxasoray, bond of frost and Keyblades of Oblivion. **Again you guys are just the greatest and i enjoy reading all of your reviews :)**

**well, i'm off for the night, expect an update with any luck throughout the week, enjoy and stay safe :)**

**Jared Someone.**


	12. A Revelation of Sorts

**_J _**_enova _

**_x_**

**_XI_**

**_x_**

_Hallow Bastion Psychological Rehabilitation Asylum_

_Hallow Bastion_

_2007_

**_x_**

The silence in the room was only interrupted by the tapping of computer keys, the buzzing of the computer as it ran the files and numbers as a man sat behind a desk. The room was small, with a desk at the back, a TV hanging from the corner of the room and the entire room darkened, with a light coming only from the computer. The man stretched as he removed his glasses and squeezed his eyes before replacing the glasses back on.

A knock on the door caused the man to look up, and said in a soft voice, "Come in," and the door opened to reveal a young woman dressed in blouse, skirt and high heels, looking like a stereotypical secretary, saying in a friendly voice, "Theres a WRO agent here to see you, Professor,"

The Professor looked at the Secretary for a moment, taking a deep breath before he said, "Send him in," and the Secretary nodded her head as she closed the door.

The man ran a hand through his long hair, which ended in a ponytail as he wiped his head, before he took a deep breath once again and turned off his computer as the door opened, and another man entered.

The man was in his late 30's, with spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was dressed in a sharp suit, and had a line on his face where his mouth was. Looking directly at the Professor, he said in a calm voice, "Agent Cloud Strife, WRO," as he withdrew a black leather wallet and showed him his identification.

The man stood up as he held his hand out, which Cloud shook as the Professor said, "Professor Hojo," The man nodded his head, as Cloud took a seat, undoing his jacket as he sat down, saying, "Professor, I'm here in regards to the internal investigation of the Shinra Corporation..." Cloud withdrew a slip of paper from his pocket as he handed it to Professor Hojo, "That's a search warrant, that entitles me to search any room within Hallow Bastion, and all questions i have will be answered by you, do you understand?"

Hojo raised an eyebrow as he said, "The WRO already investigated Hallow Bastion Years ago, what do you think you're going to find here that you didn't years ago?"

"The WRO is going through a lot of lose ends in regards to the Shinra Case, and I have been asked to take a closer look into Hallow Bastion, clearly the Director believes that I might find something that the other agents missed...are there any more questions?"

Hojo waited for but a moment before he shook his head and said "Right, well i'll lead you down there now," and the man withdrew himself from his chair as his made his way towards the door. Cloud watched him for a moment, studying his movements, it was almost as if he was trying to figure out the man in front of his, as if Hojo was hiding something from his, and was determined to unlock the secrets that Hojo was keeping away. But soon, he gave the man a nod as he slowly got up and followed the man out the door, closing the door of the small office.

**_x_**

_Strife Household._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

Sora's eyes fluttered as he slowly managed to wake up, groaning as his entire body tried extremely hard to get up. After a few minutes, Sora took a deep breath before he managed to find himself sitting upright. Sora gave a yawn as pushed himself off of the bed, Sora wiped his hands on his long grey pair of pajamas as he managed to pick up his phone, looking at the date and noticing that it was a thursday, the day of which he would return back to school.

Sora had spent most of his time during his suspension sitting in his room, copying several meditation techniques for a few hours, before he found himself either going for a walk or a ride. His dad had managed to find a good deal where his bike was completely fixed, and despite Sora trying to tell his dad that he would get a part time job to pay for it, Cloud stated that he would have none of that, telling Sora that he would always be there when his son was in trouble, and wouldn't accept a OneMunny from the boy.

Sora sighed as he stretched, although his clock read 10, he wasn't too worried, as Sora had found himself on a day where he only had nothing but two subjects right after lunch. Glad that he had a reason to sleep in, now that he knew that he didn't have to be at school on the dot, Sora yawned as he made his way down the stairs.

Finding the entire house quiet, Sora looked around before he entered the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with two pieces of toast, both of which had been coated in peanut butter. Sora sat down on his favorite chair as he flicked through the television, crunching down on the toast as his thoughts returned to the week that had just gone by.

Throughout the week, Kairi had spent most of her time visiting the boy after school, where the two would talk, laugh, take a walk, and in some cases ride on Sora's newly fixed bike, where Sora had managed to explore almost every inch of Twilight, from the magnificent Dawn to the many secret beaches surrounding the edge of the Destiny Islands, where Kairi had shown him some of the quiet areas around, where they had talked and talked about their hopes, dreams, fond memories. Indeed, Sora believed he know knew more about Kairi then he did with anyone else.

As he finally found a news station that seemed interesting, Sora stopped switching channels as he curled himself up in a ball, eating the toast as he watched the very famous news reporter Vanille Oerba addressing her audience on DemyxNews, one of the many channels supported by DemyxTime Media, the largest Media corporation on the planet.

"Following our previous report, rumors of dangerous radiation coming from Radiant Garden's personal Mako Reactors were today confirmed as false, as a spokesperson from the Energy Monitoring Station on the Destiny Islands confirmed that all reports of Mako poisoning were shown to be Negative. The spokesperson in question, Dr. Villiers was reported as saying that all Mako Reactors which were checked daily were all stated to be in top order, meanwhile, stocks in Shinra have began to-"

Sora shut off the TV as he gave another yawn, reaching into the pocket of his pajama pants as he withdrew his phone and saw that the time was already 11, he didn't have much time before he had to get ready for school. Sora yawned as he made his way up the stairs, returning a short time later changed in his usual get up, and glad that he could return back to school. Having gotten his side bag packed and ready, he slipped it over his shoulders, checking his pockets to ensure that he had managed to pick up his wallet, phone and sPlayer+, shoving the headphones into his ears as he made his way out the door, locking it from behind him as he walked over to the garage, slipping onto his bike as he slipped his helmet on and entered his key into the ignition, hearing the vehicle come to life, he slowly made his way out of the small garage as jumped off his bike and closed the door, before he was once again back on, and in a few moments was roaring down the streets, passing buildings in a haze of dust and exhaustion.

Sora didn't have to wait long before he had managed to locate the school, as he saw the building come up on the horizon. Sora smiled under the visor as he roared the bike towards the building, despite the visor on his helmet was down, he could feel the wind blowing against his face.

Driving the bike into the school parking lot, Sora stretched out as he removed the helmet from his head and tucked it under his arm as he swung off the bike, stretching his back as he began walking towards the school, with his bag over his shoulder, helmet tucked under his arm and a smile on his face, telling himself that he would let what had happened a week ago tarnish his good mood.

As the doors swung open for him to enter, and he took those first few steps into the sword building, the first thing he noticed was the looks that some people were giving him. Throughout the week Sora had assumed that what he had done the previous wednesday would not earn him the same smiles or hello's he was used to for the past few months, but the looks that he was being given now was not what he had expected. Sora had taken note of the cheery hallway conversations that people had been in, and how they had all of a sudden stopped when he entered. Now, he was being given stares, as people began to whisper, ensuring that they did not break eye contact with him. Sora broke his eyes away as he began walking towards his locker, which thankfully was not far away from where he was.

As Sora spun the small dial to the right set of numbers, he could not help but glance up and look at the several students looking at him, all with heads in their papers as they realized that Sora was looking at them, to which they all looked down and away, before moving off.

Sora could not understand why they all had weird expressions on their faces, or why instead of smiles on their faces, or any other expression then fear and confusion. He took a deep breath, trying to conceal the thoughts and the ideas that were trying to push their way through, which Sora knew that would only fuel his voice, which called itself "Vanitas".

Shaking his head, he closed the locker, as he heard a soft voice coming from his side, "Sora?"

Sora looked over to see Kairi standing next to him, her books in her arms and a look of worry coating her face. Sora looked at her, and again those thoughts of why confusion was on the faces of these people began to resurface, but for the first time there was a hint of worry mixing around in the curiosity. Sora could not care what the other people thought of him, but Kairi's opinion meant something to him, and if she was upset, angry, or any other negative emotion with the boy, then Sora was going to stop at nothing before he knew what was going on.

But before Sora was able to ask her what was wrong, a voice that he had hoped he could avoid for the rest of the day entered his mind, and for the first time in his life, he had hoped that it belonged to his own thoughts. Unfortunately, the voice came from an over-confident young man, and the footsteps that followed confirmed that there was more then one person was making their way towards them.

"Well well well, if it isn't the freak,"

Sora's eyes widened when he knew what the man had just said, and saw that Kairi's face had gone from a small look of confusion to one mixed with fear. Sora closed his eyes as he slowly turned around and faced the three people standing before him. Seifer with a smug albeit distant look on his face, Rai with a bandage over his nose, but a smirk on his face nonetheless, and Fuu keeping her distance. Sora stood straight as he looked at the man before he said, "What do you want Seifer?"

"You know it astounded me at first why you attacked me, but after the truth was revealed, I can see how you would attack an innocent teenager and threaten another,"

Sora felt the anger swell to his head as he took a step, before he felt a soft touch on his shoulder, which Sora only assumed was Kairi. Not looking back, he growled, "You know exactly why i did was I did Almasy, you damaged my bike,"

"Is that what you believe Sora? I can understand how your mind would go that way," Seifer smirked, as Sora looked at his, his breathing coming in a funny rhythm that it was used to, as he managed to spit out, "I don't know what you're talking about,"

Smirking, Seifer withdrew a folded up set of papers held together by a simple piece of paper and threw it too the boy with some force, as it bounced off of his chest and fell to the ground. Sora maintained eye contact with him as he slowly bent down and took the paper off the floor, unfolding it until it was opened up. Sora instantly recognized the paper as the school newsletter, which seemed to hold information about upcoming sports dates, music productions and even school dances. But the main page held something that Sora was not expecting. His breath became harder as he once again heard his name from the soft voice behind him, which was almost instantly drowned out by Seifer.

"How can you even live with yourself Strife, Knowing what you are? How can you bring yourself to even get out of bed, if i had what you had i would have killed myself a long time ago, if only to rid the world of a freak," Seifer laughed in a cruel manner, as Sora felt the cold bead of sweat forming around his brow. His attention instantly turned to those that were around him, all looking at the boy as they whispered, all wondering if Sora would attack Seifer like he had done before.

Sora pushed down the voice that was trying to break through, as he looked at the page once again, recognizing the name of the writer, and he felt the anger reach his head, and he resolved to find the printing room of the school paper.

Sora felt Kairi's hand slip away from his shoulder as he pushed his way past Seifer, and tried to block out the cruel and uncaring laughter that was echoing through the hallways. He felt his feet carrying him through the classrooms, peering through each of the windows to try and find the place he was looking for, ignoring the looks that he was getting, the papers in the students hands as they matched the photo on the front cover with his face, as Sora continued shaking his head until he stopped in front of the room that he was looking for, and burst into the room without so much as a knock.

The room was almost empty, with several different tables which held different laptops, a table which held a printer and a small area that had a coffee pot and several cups. But Sora was not interested in any of these things, but rather the young woman sitting at the desk typing, who had now jumped up from her seat, and looked at Sora with a mixture of panic and confusion.

Sora angrily walked towards the woman until he was standing in front of the desk, withdrawing the paper and slammed it onto the desk, causing the brown haired girl to jump back just a bit more, "You wanna explain this Selphie?!" Selphie looked at the boy for a moment, before she glanced down at the paper.

The paper had a large photo of Sora, which the boy could not remember ever being taken by him, but it was the caption on the paper that was enraging Sora, and not the mysterious photo. In big bold black letters, the caption read **SORA STRIFE: DERANGED AND DANGEROUS. **

"How dare you print this! What in Yevon's name gives you the right?" Sora was shaking with anger at the girl, who took a deep breath as she slowly stood up and said, "The people of this school have a right to know what happened last week-"

"We're not talking about last week, we're talking about my entire damn life, printed in black and white for this whole school to see! ...where the hell did you even get this?"

Selphie placed her hands on her hips as she said, "Your records are displayed to the public, due to the fact that you were released about 5 years ago, and therefore deemed not a threat...although i still think that is a mistake after what you did to Seifer,"

Sora felt his anger shoot from all over his body straight to his head, not being able to say a word as he felt something else in the room, a hand running its cold fingers over his back, Sora shivered as he felt the presence standing next to him, the pitch black hair, the golden eyes and the cold sound of his voice filling his head through his ears, "She has publicly humiliated you Sora, are you going to stand there and take it?"

"The school has the right to know where you come from, and who you are, and as a journalist i have that right to publish it," Selphie looked at him with cold stone eyes.

"We're not talking about some sports event or a dance, were talking about someones YEVON-DAMNED LIFE!" Sora roared as pushed his fist into the desk, the entire thing rattled, "A life, may i remind you, that you do not control,"

Selphie looked away for a moment, not giving an answer, before she took a deep breath, and said, "If the safety of the student body is at risk, then-"

"If I was such a damn risk Selphie, do you think i would have been allowed in this area? or even in public? You're a high school journalist, where's your bloody Mark of Mastery in Psychology?" Sora turned to leave, but not before Selphie said, "They deserve to know the truth Sora!"

Sora stopped, and noticed that she had used this reason a couple of times, and slowly he turned around and said, "...Why publish it Selphie?...if it was safety, why not go to one of the teachers, or the principal, instead you decide to publish it for the public to see...that sounds more like you were doing it for personal reasons," and as Sora slowly began to put it together, Selphie's eyes widened as she said, "Get out Sora! You're out of line,"

Sora scoffed as he said, "I'm not out of line Selphie...doubtless this will cause me months of pain and alienation, but thats nothing compared to what you will go through...because i will survive this...but you'll have to live with this action for years to come...and one day you might feel regret, and you might find a way to apologizing...but by then it will be too late," Sora muttered as he made his way through the doors, leaving Selphie standing there with a look of confusion and anger...and a little sadness.

Sora felt sick, he could not shake the feeling off, as he felt Vanitas walking next to him, telling him that his life was forever ruined, and that nobody would ever love him now, now that they knew who he really was. He reminded him that these feelings would forever haunt him, no matter how many times he would try to run away.

Sora made his way to the front of the door, not feeling like returning back to his final two classes of the day, not feeling like seeing or talking to anyone. Doubtless anyone would even want to talk to him, though from the people that were avoiding him, Sora was safe in assuming that all he would get was stares, mutters and people trying to avoid him.

As he rounded the final corner, he barely noticed Kairi standing against the locker, waiting for him. He only just heard her soft cry of his name as he passed her, before he was out the doors. Kairi hurriedly made her way to the front, but by the time she had made it out the gate, Sora was already halfway down the road and out of sight.

Kairi sighed as she turned around and made her way back into the school, passing by several students as she soon found herself in the Cafeteria, her feet having taken her there after years of attending the school. She did not have to look long before she had located her friends, as she sat down next to Riku, who along with Axel, Namine and Roxas were all re-reading the paper for the upteenth time that day. Riku placed the paper down as he looked just as down as Kairi, but it was Roxas who said the first words.

"I knew there was something about Sora, and know Selphie found out the proof," Roxas muttered as he placed the paper down and turned to Namine, who looked white as a sheet, but quiet as anything.

"It's just so weird...he never showed any signs that he...well..." Axel trailed off as he sighed, but Riku shook his head.

"No, I refuse to believe it, Sora was always so quiet, and kind,"

"It's the quiet ones who are always guilty Riku, I mean look what he did to Seifer," Roxas pointed out, but Riku again shook his head, "That was over two months of constant provoking, I was surprised that Sora had not snapped long ago, we cannot blame his sudden outburst on this," Riku held out the paper.

"We're not, we're basing it on what we saw yesterday," Roxas said slowly, but the soft voice of Kairi broke the two boys from their conversation.

"Are we?" and Roxas stopped, looking like he was compiling an argument for her statement, but Kairi continued, "We've only known Sora for a couple of months, and in all those months we have never been given the slightest bit of evidence that he is a bad person, and now all of a sudden we're going to condemn him for his past?"

"Kairi, you were mad at him before," Roxas began, but Kairi shook her head, "So you're suggesting i should hate Sora for it? Despite his apology? Why must his past be a judgement on his present if he has been that good to us,"

"Maybe it was a trick?" Roxas stated, and Kairi retorted, "Maybe it wasn't, all i know is is that we'll never find out the truth by sitting around here gossiping, I'm going straight to the source," and Kairi stood up, with Axel looking in surprise, asking, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Sora, but before i go, may i remind you Roxas that before Sora's past came into the equation, you believed just as we all did that what Sora had done was justified by the way that Seifer had treated him for the past couple of months," and with that Kairi made her way out of the Cafeteria, when suddenly she was stopped by someone grabbing her wrist, and was instantly spun around by her silver-haired friend.

"What?" Riku asked when Kairi gave him her confused look, "You're not the only one whose worried about Sora, and you'll cover more ground in a Vehicle,"

"I don't need to cover ground, I know where he is," Kairi said, but she allowed Riku to accompany her as they made their way through the school and into the parking lot, where Riku led her to his new car, a Shinra Model Sports car, pitch black and shiny as anything. Both jumped into the car and in mere minutes had made their way out of the school.

"Never knew you were the type to ditch class for someone Kai," Riku smiled, and Kairi remained silent as the roar of his engine rattled through her ears as she tried to keep track of the numerous houses they were passing by.

"You know...you never did this sort of thing when you and I were...well, you know," Riku smirked as he looked to his left, and Kairi gave Riku a look as she said, "You never ran off Riku...and this is different, I am helping out a friend,"

Riku smirked as he turned a corner, waiting for Kairi's directions to break the sound of the wind whooshing past them, but Kairi merely rolled her eyes as she looked out, and said, "Left here," and Riku merely chuckled as they found themselves on the road near the beach.

"Just a little...there!" Kairi called out as she found his bike, and Riku instantly parked as close as he could behind it, as Kairi and Riku both looked out across the beach, which was deserted save for one person.

The two didn't need binoculars to tell that Sora was sitting on the beach, his bag a few feet away from him as he sat there. From what they noticed, Sora looked like he was looking out onto the sea, and at least that was a good sign. Riku and Kairi both got out of the car and made their way down to the beach.

From even a few feet away, Sora remained perfectly still, and once the two had reached the teen, they realized that he had his eyes closed, and he was sitting in a position that made him look like he had been meditating. Kairi and Riku looked at each other as they watched Sora breath in and out, before Kairi knelt down and touched Sora's shoulder.

Sora's eyes opened for a moment before he closed them again, saying as he did, "Aren't you guys afraid of your safety?"

"What? from you? you don't look so tough Sora," Smirked Riku as Sora gave him a small smile as he opened his eyes once again, stretching he feet out as he looked out onto the sea.

Kairi waited a few moments before she asked him, "What were you just doing," and Sora sighed as he looked to Kairi and said, "Meditating...it helps me relax, and keeps me in...control,"

"Control? from what?" Kairi asked, and Sora looked at her, saying as he did, "You read the paper, didn't you?" and Kairi nodded her head, before Sora looked to Riku, who also indicated that he had also read the paper by nodding his head.

"Then you should know what i'm trying to control," Sora muttered as he closed his eyes again, but opened them once again as he felt Kairi's hand on he shoulder, and her eyes next to his. Both Kairi and Riku were sitting on either side of the boy, both with worried looks on their faces.

"We want to hear it from you Sora, not what some reporter said," and Sora could not help but scoff at the official term Riku was giving Selphie, before he sighed, and he looked out at the sea as he said, "What do you want to know?"

"Start from the beginning," Kairi said as she leaned her head on his shoulder, and Sora sighed as he brought his knees to his chest, hugging them as he closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, despite the fact his past was printed on the pages of the school newsletter, it was still going to be hard to reveal this information to the two, but nevertheless, he complied.

"Hallow Bastion Psychological Rehabilitation Asylum...for as long as i remember that was my first home, my first memories was inside one of its cells, a bed in the corner, no windows, and quite a small area...i was never really told what my problem was, i only managed to gather little information for the first couple of years...The first thing i learned was my name; Sora, and that i was born 14th March, 1994,"

"As the years went on, i found out more about myself, including the reason that i was there. The Doctor's said that i had a rare form of Split-Personality Disorder, Anger management issues and prone to Psychological Hallucinations brought on by social anxiety, though I never had a hallucination before, they said this was due to the fact that i had not reached a psychological breakdown of that level yet," Sora breathed out as he felt a tear fall from his eyes as he continued.

"Ever since i could talk i remember i've always had...a voice in my head, a little voice nudging away every time i felt anxious, telling me what i should do...to fight, to harm. to attack...to talk back," Sora could not help but look up at Kairi, and his look explained why he had said those nasty things to her during the saturday after Selphie's party.

"The Doctor's tried everything from psychological profiling to Medication, nothing seemed to work, so they confirmed that through controlled meditation, it lowered the chance of an episode, so i was just...lost in the files and patients...until 2007..."

"What happened in 2007?" Kairi asked, and a sad smile crossed the teenagers face as he looked at Kairi, saying as he did, "A WRO Agent who was investigating Hallow Bastion in regards to a Shinra Case crossed my room, and saw me...and seeing a bit of me in him, he decided to adopt me,"

"You mean..." Kairi began, but Sora merely smiled as he nodded his head, "The WRO agent was my Father, Cloud Strife," and both Riku and Kairi 'wow'ed' as Sora hugged his knees, waiting to continue his story.

"I was taught advanced forms of mental meditation from my dad, and this helped conceal the voices, but...sometimes, they just get the better of me...and i cannot control it," Sora placed his head onto his knees, not wanting to show the single tear that was dripping down his face. He let out a cough as he felt Kairi place her arms around him, and waited for a few moments before she spoke.

"Sora, no matter what is in your past, no matter what you have done, it will be ok...you are a good person, I know you are, and so does Riku, you're past isn't important, you're future...that's what we care about,"

Sora smiled at what he was hearing, the kindness that Kairi was giving him, Sora could not help but smile as he looked up, looking between Kairi and Riku, as he chuckled and dried his eyes with his hands as he said, "Thank you guys," and all three hugged as they watched the sunset, all silent for a few moments before Riku began a new conversation.

"So, what are you going to do about the situation at school?" and Sora sighed as he looked at the sunset, waiting a few moments before he took a deep breath and smiled, before he turned to both Kairi and Riku, "Live for today..." and Sora smirked as he glanced at the two, and Riku and Kairi both smiled as they said each repeated what Sora had said, with smiles on their faces, and Sora knew that no matter what happened, what people thought, what they believed, Sora had both Riku and Kairi, and with the two of them there, there was nothing that could dampen his spirits. Especially a newspaper reporter who had revealed all his past...well, almost all of his past...

**_x_**

_Hallow Bastion Psychological Rehabilitation Asylum_

_Hallow Bastion_

_2007._

**_x_**

The elevator doors opened to the main chamber of Hallow Bastion, which was covered in cells that contained those who were not as dangerous as some of the other patients that Hallow Bastion held. Professor Hojo and Agent Strife both exited the elevator as they began walking to the front of the building, Hojo saying as they walked, "Well Agent, I hope the investigation has answered your questions,"

"Well, at least I can cross this place off, you don't seem to be doing anything dangerous, the WRO does thank you for your co-operation though," Agent Strife nodded as they continued walking, and Hojo nodded his head, "Not a problem...I am happy to have helped the WRO in any way i can,"

Cloud nodded his head as he found himself glancing into the cells, some of which were empty, but as Strife began to slow in his walk, he noticed one of the cells that contained someone. He stopped as he looked at the boy, who looked barely in his teens. Cloud could barely see through the small window, but the teen looked saddened, not making any sort of movement.

"Agent?" Cloud looked up to see Hojo looking at him, and Cloud shook his head as he said, "Sorry, was just...could i get a better look at this patient?"

"I don't think your warrant granted you interview permissions with the pa-" Hojo began, but Cloud cut him off, "I'm not looking to interview him Professor, I'm here as a normal citizen now, not a WRO Agent,"

Hojo stood still for a moment before he called out to the Doctor that was sitting at a desk near the door, ordering a copy of the patients file. The female doctor on duty jumped up, picking up a glass tablet as she began typing something into it as she made her way towards Hojo, before she handed it too him, as he scanned the file before he said, "He's a Class 4, visiting privileges are fine," and Hojo walked over to the door as he scanned his card, as the red light turned green and the door unlocked.

Cloud slowly opened the door and walked inside, loosening his tie as he got a better look at the boy. He looked completely pale, his eyes held bags as his brown hair looked like it had never seen a brush. Although some of the other patients had been fitted with straight jackets, this boy seemed to be dressed in a simple pair of black pants and shirt. He was staring at the ground, and did not even flinch as Cloud entered the room, sitting down next to him as he said, "Hello there,"

The boy did not move, rather he continued to stare at the ground, as Cloud turned back to Hojo who was looking at two, saying as he did, "What's wrong with him," and Hojo typed something into the tablet before he said, "Split personality disorder, prone to anger management and psychological hallucinations,"

"Doesn't seem so bad now, have you got him under medication or something?" Cloud asked, and Hojo looked back at the file before he shook his head, "Well he is a Class 4, which means his condition has been deemed untreatable, but it also says here he has been deemed fit to enter society, but he doesn't seem to have any family, so he has just remained here,"

Cloud returned back to the boy as he ran a hand slowly through his hair, and Cloud could not help but see something in the boy, and as he smiled at him, memories of his own childhood flashed through his mind, memories of spending days upon days on his own, and he saw himself at his age. He had always wanted someone there to care for him, and he knew that this boy felt the same way.

"What are your policies on adoption?" Cloud asked, and Hojo was taken aback. He had never heard of anyone wanting to adopt someone here, many people wanted to adopt from adoption agencies or foster homes. Nevertheless, Hallow Bastion did have adoption policies, and the patient before them fitted the requirements, so Hojo said, "The papers will take a few days to process, if you wanna come back then everything should be fine,"

"No problem," Cloud gave Hojo a smile as he returned back to the boy, and said in a soft voice, "So what is my new son's name?"

The boy slowly looked up, and for the first time Cloud got a good look into his eyes, which were the same blue that he had, just a tiny bit less shiny. But with a gulp, the boy managed to speak but a few words.

"My name...is Sora,"

**_x_**

**So much we have learnt about Sora, hope this has not only surprised you, but also has made you want to read so much more. I want to appologise for how long this chapter took, i would love to blame it on work or social life, but the real truth is that it was motivation. However, fret not, as after this next chapter (which does have a little action in it) we will start to get a bit deeper into the story, which im super dooper excited to bring to you :)**

**A wonderful thanks to everyone who has subscribed, and those who have reviewed; **Keyblades of Oblivion, khheroxasoray, DestinyKeyblader28, Kairiangel035, Bond of Frost, EthanFlux, Random Reader 17, 13shiroyami and SiChri. **You guys are just all wonderful, and i do hope you enjoyed reading the chapter.**

**Id love to say the next chapter will be tomorrow, but i don't wanna get your hopes up. All i'll say is keep a look out, and hopefully an update will be shortly :)**

**Jared Someone.**


	13. Operation: Recruitment Struggle

**_J _**_enova _

**_x_**

**_XII_**

**_x_**

_Strife Household_

_Destiny Islands_

_Present Day_

**_x_**

The sun was barely over the mountains when the sound level of the Strife Household was already louder then anything. Sora had been woken by his fathers loud voice, where he only assumed that he was on the phone with someone. Sora could not help but yawn as he made his way down the stairs, letting out a stretched as he watched his father pacing this way and that with the home phone in his hands.

"My son was released from Hallow Bastion deemed eligible to be re-introduced to society almost 5 years ago, therefore he is just as sane as any one of your students...that attack was from my understanding provoked, you should stop harassing about my son's prior condition and start looking into some of the bullying going on in your school...you have no right to expel my son on those grounds, he has already been fairly punished...well do your worst, but until then stay off my son's back," Cloud slammed his finger onto the 'end call' button before he slammed it down on the counter.

Sora waited a few moments before he broke the silence, "Let me guess, the Principal wanting me out of the school due to my life in Hallow Bastion?" and Cloud sighed as he turned to Sora, saying as he did, "How did this information even get out?"

"A nosy student who decided if she couldn't have me, nobody could?" Sora chuckled sadly as he leaned against the wall and folded his arms, and Cloud could not help but raise his eyebrow, "Those psychological sessions you had seem to have rubbed off on you,"

Sora merely shrugged as he stretched, saying as he did, "Wasn't hard to figure out," and Sora made his way towards the kitchen, where he found himself an apple and began biting into it, glad that the fruit was refreshing as well as filling, "Sorry you had to get into this dad," Sora muttered, but Cloud shook his head as he smiled.

"You have nothing to be Sorry for Sora, this is the schools fault for not taking proper action...I have half a mind to enroll you in a different school if only to get away from all this drama,"

Sora's eyes widened as he shook his head, "You don't have to do that dad, I'll be fine, honestly," and Cloud could not help but raise an eyebrow as he said, "Now whats got you so keen to go back to that school,"

Sora was just about to give him some mundane answer about almost being halfway through the year, when suddenly the doorbell rang, and Cloud could not help but smirk as both Father and Son looked at each other, before they both began to run for the door. Sora more then likely would have made it, had not Cloud pushed him out of the way of the kitchen door, and by the time Sora had regained his balance, Cloud was already opening the door.

"Hello Kairi!" Cloud called out, and Sora face-palmed himself as he made his way towards the door, in time to hear Kairi say, "Is Sora up? I was hoping to walk with him to school,"

Sora managed to slip upstairs without being seen, but once again slapped himself in the head as he heard his dad say, "You don't know how happy it makes me to hear that Kairi,"

A few moments later Sora was returning back down the stairs, with his bag slung over his shoulders and a smile on his face as he managed to push past his dad, saying as he did, "Bye dad, it's been fun, come on Kairi," and grabbing the girl by her arm, the two began walking down the street, being watched by Cloud who could not help but smile at his son.

The walk, although lasting well over an hour, went by quickly for Sora, where the two conversed about what would happen at school, as well as plans for the upcoming holidays. As they soon found themselves walking down the main road to the school, Sora could feel his breath shorten, as he had no idea what he would be walking into. But a touch on his arm caused him to look to Kairi, and the two smiled as together they entered the school, and soon the sword building.

From the minute Sora's feet had touched the ground, He could feel the glances of everyone. Sora took a deep breath as he continued walking, with Kairi by his side. The stares felt like they were drilling holes in his head. But every time Sora began to feel anxious, he looked towards Kairi, and instantly that awkward feeling was gone, and replaced with one of happiness. Despite the situation that Sora had found himself in, he could not feel Vanitas trying to push himself up. There was just something about Kairi that made him feel a lot better about himself.

Classes were just a blur to Sora, once Kairi had gone Sora could only rely on the thought of Kairi, though Sora was glad for mobile phones, as the two continued to talk as Sora sat in one of his classes, the only thing that kept him from feeling low was those small barely hearable vibrations that came from his pockets. Sora could not believe that after what felt like a few moments, the bell was sounding, and Sora smiled as he dashed out of his classroom, glad that he had a free period next. Sora stretched as he began making his way out of the building, where the figure that was Sora's best friend caused him to slow down, though he could not help but feel a little uneasy when he saw Riku reading the school paper, and realized it was the one from yesterday, his picture staining the front.

"What are you doing with that?" Sora sighed, and Riku looked up with a conniving smile on his face, as if he was already planning something disastrous. Sora sighed as he continued walking, but did not have to wait long before Riku had caught up with him, but before he could say anything, Sora cut in.

"Riku, whatever scheme you've got up your sleeve, i'm not interested," Sora muttered as they both walked into the sunshine, and Riku responded, "Would just hear me out,"

"Riku, you're trying to convince a psychologically disturbed teenager to join a sport involving attack your opponent with struggle bats," Sora reminded him, and Riku stopped Sora.

"Ok, first off, those bats are made with Gravity Metal, which means they couldn't hurt a fly...well, ok maybe they could, but the point is, you have some serious strength, and we need that,"

"Need I remind you Riku, that strength seriously hurt almost two students," Sora muttered, and Riku responded just as quickly, "Thats exactly my point, not everyone can say that they could take Rai in a fight, we need that kind of strength,"

Sora sighed as he continued walking, He knew that Riku was not going to give up, but he just couldn't get into the struggle team, he couldn't hurt another student for the sake of a sport. Sora tried to walk away from Riku, silently showing that his mind had been made up, but Riku called out to Sora, which caused him to slowly turn around

"Alright, i can see that my charm isn't having an effect...look, how about this, you come to the stadium at lunch time, watch us training, maybe have a bit of a go, and if you still don't feel like doing it, then i promise i will never ask you again,"

Sora waited for a moment, considering Riku's offer. He only had to go once, and he knew that the risk of the other students was too much to even consider Riku's offer, so eventually, Sora nodded his head before he said, "Alright, I'll go at lunch, but you never bother me again with it," and Riku nodded his head, before Sora shook Riku's hand and made his way towards the cafeteria where Sora was going to catch up on some studying.

While Riku watched him walking away, he pulled out his phone as he dialed a number, holding the phone to his ear and waiting for a few moments before he began to talk, "Hey, it's Riku...i've got him to go to the stadium...gather the others, prepare for Operation: Recruitment..."

**_x_**

_Lunch Time..._

**_x_**

Sora stretched in his seat as he waited for the bell to go for lunch time. He was currently sitting in his music class, but he would much rather be going to the cafeteria to get some food into him, and not to the stadium for the struggle training that he would be forced to watch for the next hour or so. Regardless, Sora looked to his right, where he watched Kairi taking notes. Sora made a mental note to grab those notes and copy as much as he could as soon as possible.

Finally, Sora heard the bell sounding throughout the building. He gathered his items as he slowly made his way out of the room, being stopped only by Kairi, who smiled as she said, "Where are you off too in such a hurry,"

Sora sighed as he looked around and said, "Riku wanted me to go to the stadium in order to watch some struggle match...he's still trying to convince me to join the struggle team," Sora smirked as he stretched out, and Kairi smiled as she said, "Sounds like you're going to have a completely boring time," and Sora could not but help let out a small laugh at this, nodding his head as he said, "You have no idea,"

"Well, i could always accompany you to the stadium," Kairi said slowly, and Sora could not help but smile at this offer to accompany him, and with no other offer, Sora nodded his head as he said, "You know, that might actually get me through the lunch break," and together the two made their way outside the room, and soon out of the building.

Both Sora and Kairi found themselves talking and laughing as the walked away from the three buildings, following the pathway into the fields, which also led to two buildings, one of the smaller buildings which was the Library, but the larger building, which looked a lot like a colosseum then a proper building, and although Sora did not enjoy the prospect that it was where the struggle practice was, he could not help but look at the sight in front of him with a form of awe, shaking his head as the two continued walking.

As the change of the wind hit against Sora's arms, his mood suddenly changed from that of happiness to caution. Sora instantly knew that there was something terribly wrong despite the fact that everything looked peaceful. Sora looked to his left and right, Kairi continuing to walk in her same happy attitude. The teenager stayed close to Kairi as he looked this way and that, as he saw a group of people that he did not recognize walking from the stadium towards them.

Kairi and Sora watched as the 3 people took out black balaclava's from their pockets and placed them over their heads. Both slowed down, Kairi with a look of confusion, but Sora instantly looked behind him, and noticed two others walking towards them, both wearing balaclava's as their friends were.

"What is-" Kairi began to say, but Sora placed his arm around the girl in a silent motion to stay behind him. As the five finally reached Sora and Kairi, Sora instantly took note of the struggle-bats they were holding. What was this? Some sort of intimidation? To force him to join the team?

"Very funny Riku," Sora stated, looking at each of the people, trying to work out which one was his best friend, but they all had the same height as Riku, he could have been any one of them.

Sora and Kairi watched as four of the five walked into some sort of set place, all standing to make a rather large square shape. Sora looked as one of the four looked straight towards Kairi, and made a motion with his fingers for her to remove herself from the box. Kairi looked to Sora, and Sora nodded his head, clearly they weren't after her, just him. So Sora urged her to make her way out of the box, and slowly without saying anything she complied, slowly walking to the far right corner, standing outside the box.

The Fifth member, who was standing a fair bit away from the boy, reached behind him. Sora reacted by standing in a stance, ready for whatever was coming his way. Slowly, the boy's arm retrieved a struggle bat, and threw it to Sora, who caught it in the air, looking slowly at the bat, the large blue light metal with a wooden handle. Sora looked up, and noticed that the stranger had also retrieved a struggle bat, and was pointing it at Sora.

"Defend yourself!" All four members who were acting as the box shouted, and Sora looked from the bat to the stranger to the four, before he scoffed, saying as he did, "Not a chance," and began walked towards the outer layer of the box, looking towards Kairi, who gave a seconds gasp as he suddenly felt cold metal connect with his back.

The metal didn't exactly cause him any serious pain, but it did cause him to hit the floor, his face connecting with grass and dust. Sora groaned as he slowly managed to pull himself up, and although nobody was making a sound, he could still feel that presence that he hated more then anything.

_"What are you doing on the floor?" _Vanitas whispered in his mind, disgust layering his cold voice as he continued _"Crush this idiot, show him your true power,"_

Sora shook his head, coughing as he managed to pull himself too his feet, and turned around, giving but a second as the stranger charged towards him with his bat in the air, ready to strike.

Sora had but a moment as he pushed his arm up, both bats connecting with each other. The stranger waisted no time on going on the offensive, swinging from the left and giving Sora almost no time to recover, as he felt the metal strike his arm, again only causing slight pain, enough for Sora to give a small grumble, as he defended another strike from the stranger, again and again tapping his bat with his opponents.

_"You defensive wimp, do something!" _Vanitas cried as he felt another strike on his shoulder, causing the boy to jump back.

_Alright stranger _Sora thought to himself as he twirled the bat in his hand, _You wanna play? let's play._

Sora charged at the boy with a speed most did not have. Swinging the bat around, it connected with the boys bat, but this did not stop Sora as he used the rebound to get a good swing at the stranger's leg, it caused the stranger to buckle down. Sora next aimed at the shoulder, which connected successfully as the boy hit the ground harder then anything. He managed to pull himself in a kneeling motion as Sora ran towards him, bat raised as he brought it down as hard as he could, connecting with his opponents bat, which rattled throughout the yard. Sora swirled around as he brought his bat down to the boys arm, this time connecting with it as the force caused his opponents bat to fly out of the his hand, flying over to the corner of the makeshift arena.

Pointing the bat at the boy, Sora felt Vanitas cheering at his success, in the same cold voice he always had, _"Now, finish the boy, strike him down while he is defenseless, ensure that he does not harm you again,"_

It took Sora a little bit of will power to not listen to the voice, as he was thinking more about Kairi's safety. But instead he pointed his bat at the boy's covered face and said, "Yield,"

Sora was expecting a lot of things, the boy to beg for mercy, his friends to suddenly attack him, but what he wasn't expecting was the stranger to laugh, and as Sora realized that this was the first sound he had made throughout the endeavor, he also realized why as the boy slowly reached for his Balaclava and removed it from his face, a bunch of silver hair being released from mask as Sora's eyes widened at his best friend looking back at him.

"Gotta say Sora," Riku smirked as he looked at the surprised boy, "You'd make one hell of a Struggleman,"

"Riku!?" Sora almost shouted, and Riku could not help but laugh as he pushed the bat Sora had been pointing at him as raised his hand up, as Sora took a moment before he grabbed his best friends hand, pulling him up as he made his way towards his bat. The square began to make their way towards the two, Kairi following close behind as she reached out and hugged Sora, the adrenaline watching the fight that had just occurred causing her to be a tiny bit more emotional then she was used to. She looked at Riku walking towards them, looking at his bat, as she walked up and slapped him across the arm, "What in Yevon's name was all that about?" She almost screeched, and Riku held up his hands in defense.

"Easy tiger, we just wanted to test Sora out," Riku muttered as he looked at the bat, inspecting it.

"Test me out? I didn't even want to be apart of the struggle team!" Sora yelled, and Riku's eyes widened, not from the shout but from something on his bat.  
"Well thats a shame, cause you'd be one tough struggleman," Riku reached out and handed Kairi the bat, and she slowly took it, and could not help but let out a low gasp, as Sora bent over and looked as well, noticing the small cracks where the front of the handle was, Sora and Kairi both looked at Riku as he smiled, saying as he did, "Come meet the team,"

"But I don't want to-" Sora was suddenly grabbed by Riku and dragged over to the other four members of the team, standing there all still in their balaclava's, before Riku said, "Sora, this is the team," and with that, the four members grinned from behind their masks.

"You already know Hayner, he's our official announcer," Sora recognized the DJ and announcer as he removed the balaclava and slapped Sora on his shoulder, saying as he did, "Hope we didn't scare you too much,"

Sora was then shown to a young man, who showed his dirty blonde spiky hair and a grin as big as anything on his face held out his hand, while Riku said, "This is our captain, and one of the greatest Struggleman we've ever seen, Tidus Clearwater," and Sora shook the boys head as Tidus said, "Some nice swinging there, a lot of power..."

Sora took the complement with a nod as he was introduced to another teenager, who was a rather big man with short orange hair and also a big grin on his face as he shook the teenagers hand, "A champion Blitzball player, and not half bad with a struggle bat, Wakka Blitz.

"You got a strong arm there mon, good strong arm," Wakka said in an extremely strong accent as he shook Sora's arm, feeling the grip of the arm-shake, and could not help but shake his hand as he said, "Same to you man," and Riku chuckled as he grabbed Sora and lead him to the final person, who now that Sora had gotten a closer look, was a bit taller then the rest of them, and as the final person removed his balaclava, Sora's eyes widened, "Coach Booth!?"

The man grinned back, with his short black hair and matching black stubble, with his brown eyes that although had just been a mix in his balaclava was now as clear as anything. Sora could not believe what he was seeing, one of his attackers was the school coach.

"Sora, please, August or Pinocchio, one or the other," the man laughed, his nickname only reminder of the very first time he had met the coach. Pinocchio, a famous fairytale character known for his lying nature, was the name the Coach had taken when he was working as a con-man back in his 20's, before the man had shaped up gotten a Mark of Mastery in teaching before he became the coach at the school.

"But why would you join in on all this?" Sora asked, and Pinocchio looked at the boy as he smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder as he said, "You have a gift son, one that i never thought possible, and i hate to say this, but we need your talent on the team,"

Sora sighed as he looked at the man, his brown eyes showing pleading in them, and Sora looked away. He couldn't do it, not with Vanitas wanting to kill any person who attacked him, he couldn't do that to some random opponent he had never met before. But as he continued pondering on the negatives, he felt a hand on his shoulder, a very familiar hand as he looked behind him, and saw Kairi smiling at the boy, saying as she did, "Do what you think is best Sora,"

Sora sighed as he said, "Alright, I will think about it," and although the others looked a tiny bit saddened, Riku said, "Don't feel sad guys, thats the closest answer to a yes i've gotten to in months," and the others smiled as they began to make their way towards the stadium. As Kairi began to walk away, Riku leaned in and whispered, "Although i know you said you would think about it, let me give you a little info about Kairi...she has a soft spot for Strugglemen," and with a wink, Riku left Sora who was begin to go slightly red.

Sora shook his head as he watched Riku catch up to his friends, as he just rolled his eyes and made his way towards Kairi, who was of course full of questions. Sora just smirked at the girl as he continued walking towards the school, with Kairi catching up to him, "You wanna explain that Sora?"

"Explain what?" Sora asked innocently, and Kairi slapped the boy, causing him to flinch with a smirk on his face as he turned to Kairi, as he said, "You mean that?" Sora pointed towards where the area, and Kairi rolled her eyes as Sora smiled.

"I told you yesterday my dad taught me a bunch of meditation techniques, well one of them was concentration on my fighting skills. He taught me a lot when i was 16, including swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat and most weaponry, the concentration allows me to know exactly how hard i'd have to punch to break someones nose, or exactly where i'd need to strike to hurt people...It sounds a little bit insane, but that concentration allows me to push the voice out when i'm trying to concentrate on tactics," Sora shrugged as he sighed, looking towards the school as Kairi looked at him.

"Wow, that sounds...well, a little nuts," Kairi admitted, and Sora scoffed as he said, "Right, cause that is the most crazy thing about me," and together the two laughed, before they reached the main courtyard, Sora finding a nice comfy wall, looking at all the students who were still enjoying the day as if they had seen nothing. Sora looked around as he wondered out loud, "You know, for a big struggle fight that just occurred, there wasn't a lot of people around,"

"Yeah," Kairi wondered as she looked around, scratching the back of her head as she looked towards the cafeteria, and some of the students walked out all carrying flyers. Sora watched as Kairi got up and asked one of the students for the flyer, who gave it too her with a smile on her face. Kairi returned as she read it, saying, "I think i figured it out," and showed Sora the poster.

Sora took the poster as he read it over, reading out loud, "Last day of school, first day of holidays party...Heartilly manor?" Sora waited for a moment, before his eyes dropped down, "Did Riku plan a party and get people to hand out flyers to distract the public JUST so he could get me alone?"

"I cannot believed that it worked," Kairi muttered as she slouched down next to Sora, looking at him before she smiled as she shook her head, "He always hosts an end of school party, i think he just saw it as an opportunity to get the flyers out and you alone,"

Sora rolled his eyes as he slouched against the wall with Kairi looking at him, saying as she did, "So, what do you plan to do?" and Sora honestly could not give her a proper answer. Part of him felt good to use those skills that his father had taught him last year, but on the other hand he was scared for what would happen. What if he did attack someone, or Vanitas became too powerful, but as those worried thoughts began to creep up on him, Kairi's hands found their way over his, and Sora instantly forgot about Vanitas as she smiled at him, "Do what makes you happy Sora," she repeated from before, and Sora smiled at the girl, realizing that as long as his friends were there, Vanitas would not be...and the same applied for his Sports choices.

So Sora did not say a word, but his smile gave it all away as he grabbed his phone and sent a quick text to Riku just as the bell went. Kairi waited for what he had answered, but as he got up and made his way to his next class, he did not say a word, causing the girl to yell out, "What did you decide?" But Sora turned around and gave the girl a smile, not giving an answer as he made his way into the Sword building, opening up his phone as he read the message that he had just sent to Riku.

**Text message to Riku Leonhart  
**_Well, If it will make Kairi happy..._

**_x_**

**So this was an actual struggle to write (pun not intended there), but it was a toughie, hope you guys still liked it, and i have good news and bad news in regards to the next couple of chapters. **

**The good news is that the chapters will begin to explain in depth a little more about Sora and the others in more detail, and that these chapters will be exciting as ever.**

**Bad news? The next chapters will be a four-parter...yes you can all start hating me now.**

**Wonderful to hear from my faithful followers, including **Keyblades of Oblivion, Steph, Lion5589, SiChri, DestinyKeyblader28, EthanFlux, KairiAngel035, Random Reader 17 and Khheroxasoray **The best readers a writer could ever ask for :3**

**Take care guys, and look out for part I which hopefully will not be too far away, ciao!**

**Jared Someone.**


	14. On Holiday: Part I

**_J _**_enova _

**_x_**

**_XIII_**

**_x_**

_Twilight Heights High School._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The month after the unfortunate revelation of Sora's condition and his agreement to join the struggle team were filled with moments of craziness, as well as ups and downs. Most saw Sora's joining of the struggle team to be a dangerous message, and Seifer had gone out of his way to try to make Sora's time at THH a terrible one, trying to provoke the teen so he would be expelled for his condition. Though Sora now didn't go anywhere without one of his friends, and that calming effect that opposed Vanitas' anger and chaos was enough for Sora to push a smile as he made his way throughout the school.

Others, however saw Sora's joining to be a good asset. Those who both knew about Seifer bullying him and his strength were now starting to understand what would drive someone to do it, and began getting to know Sora, realizing that he was not as crazy as the others saw him, and even saw him as a good guy, which was more then Sora thought about himself.

Throughout the weeks, Sora had not seen much of Selphie, and what he had seen of her would be her quickly running in the opposite direction. Sora knew that she was already feeling guilty for what she had done, and even Sora felt a tiny bit of guilt. Maybe through his actions he had unintentionally caused the girl to print what she had. Though he wasn't about to go search out Selphie to apologize, and continued to go through the school with a smile on his face.

The weeks seemed to go by in a blur for the boy, and soon he was faced with the final day at school. As with everyone else, he was looking forward to the final bell, and the few weeks that he would have off, to be able to enjoy his holidays. However, just like everyone else, he found those final hours to be longer then normal. So when the bell went for the final two subjects of the day, Sora could not help but agree with Axel.

"Dear Yevon how long is this going to take!" He cried out, as Sora, Roxas and Riku bid goodbye to the girls and began to make their way towards the stadium for their double PE.

"Come on Axe, could be worse...could be the start of the day again," Roxas muttered, and Axel turned to the boy, his eyes wide opened, "Don't say that, you'll jinx us?"

"How exactly is that going to 'jinx' us Axel?" Sora asked, as Riku could not help but laugh at his friends immaturity.

"We could fall into a time hole and end up at the beginning of the day, forced to relive the entire day over and over again,"

"You gotta stop watching those Sci-Fi programs Axe," Sora slapped his friend on the back and the three laughed at Axel as they finally reached the front of the Sports stadium.

"Hurry up you three! You're late!" cried out the Coach, and the three made their way into the change rooms, returning moments later in the schools Sports uniform; knee-long shorts, singlets with the school symbol, and in Riku and Axel's case, headbands to catch sweat, whereas Sora and Roxas opted for the wristbands. Making their way from the men's bathroom, they walked into the clearing.

The entire arena looked like the one from the Mirage Arena, though obviously a lot more low tech then the stadium, and it was smaller. However, the field looked exactly the same size, and already a bunch of their classmates were standing around their coach, all looking at the four boys.

"Hurry up you lot, two of you may be on the struggle team, but that won't stop me from holding all four of you in detention this afternoon," and at the sound of this, Axel began running as fast as he could towards their teacher, with the others rolling their eyes as they finally made it to the rest of their class.

"Now, I know a lot of you have been having classes where the teacher hasn't really cared about teaching seeing as its the last day of school," Coach said, and a lot of the students looked around and smiled at the classes where they had had to do nothing but sit and talk.

"Well...that's not going to happen here, struggle practice!" and with that, the coach leaned down to a box filled with Struggle bats as he began picking them up and throwing them to random students, those who failed to catch were forced to run around the stadium until the coach had seen enough.

Sora managed to catch his and began to slowly turn it in his hands as he watched a few of the students managing to drop the bat that was thrown to them. Those students managed to get stares from the coach, and sighed as they began to make their way around the stadium.

Once all students had their bats (or were running around the stadium) Coach Booth blew his whistle, and instantly students began to partner up with each other. Sora and Riku began hitting off the other, trying to find weak points and executing them in style. But after a few moments, Riku stopped what they were doing, and smiled as he looked at something behind Sora.

"What?" Sora asked, and Riku looked at Sora as he said, "You're going to want to see this," and Sora turned around, his curiosity getting the better of him as he could not help but raise an eyebrow at what he was seeing.

Roxas was surrounded by 5 students, all in battle stances swinging their bats, waiting for Roxas to make the first move. Roxas meanwhile had his bat loosely hanging from his hands as he waited, patiently for someone to attack him. By now most of the students had stopped what they were doing and were now concentrating on what Roxas was doing, although Sora was the only one with a look of surprise on his face, the others had curiosity and excitement on theirs.

Quite suddenly, one of the students charged at Roxas, who waited until the last second, before his eyes opened as he flipped the bat, so the blue metal part of the bat was pointing down, and he swiped the bat across, connecting with his opponents bat. Roxas waisted no time in flipping it to its normal position as brought the bat down to his opponents knees, causing the boy to fall.

Sora's eyes widened as two more made their way towards Roxas. The class stood in disbelief as Roxas managed to rebound the attacks of both his opponents, while still managing to somehow strike his opponents unguarded areas, including knees, arms and even a few on the back, all without breaking so much of a small sweat.

As Roxas brought his bat down against the back of his final opponent, the Coach clapped his hands as he looked towards his watch, "I believe thats a new time," and Roxas looked at the Coach, saying as he did, "I was just defending myself,"

The Coach laughed as he said, "Theres nothing wrong with a little friendly sports violence Roxas, I just wish you would consider joining the team," But Roxas looked at the coach as the bell rang, and he shook his head as he made his way towards the change rooms, everyone still marveling at what Roxas had managed to do.

"Riku," Sora slowly said, as his best friend looked towards him, "I think you were trying to get the wrong guy for the struggle team," and Riku smiled as Sora as they began to make their way towards the change rooms, Riku saying as he did, "Are you kidding me? i've been trying to convince Roxas to join the team since 8th grade, that Standard year i was spending more time trying to get him on the team then anyone else,"

Sora and Riku reached the changing room as Roxas made his way out, mumbling a goodbye and stating he would see Sora and Riku at the party that night. Sora and Riku both nodded as they entered, getting changed into their normal school uniform and making their way from the school stadium.

"So, If you've been begging him all this time, and he obviously is talented, why is he still not apart of the team," Sora asked, and Riku merely shrugged, "He's always been this 'i don't believe in violence except for defense' morality...plus he spends most of his time either studying or working, he hardly has time for Struggle as well...which is real shame, cause compared to a lot of the skill i've seen over the years, nobody matches too him,"

Sora could not help but wonder Roxas' reasoning as to why he did not want to join the team, but Sora supposed that all had their own reasons for doing things, and he was the last person who should be judging.

As Sora and Riku made their way out of the school, cheers of holidays and promises to see Riku at his party that night made their way throughout the crowd. Sora smiled as he waved at the few people that greeted him, as Riku could not help but breath deeply and smile at the crowds thinning, Sora smiling as he said, "Seems your party is on everyones mind,"

"My parties, Sora, are made of legend, I guarantee everyone will be talking about this event for months to come...or until i host the next one," Riku smirked as he walked over to his car, smiling at his beautiful vehicle as he said, "So, what are you planning to wear?"

Sora raised an eyebrow as he said, "What am i going to wear? isn't that more of a girlish question to ask Riku?"

"Humor me," he said as he jumped into his car and began to start the engine, and Sora rolled his eyes as he shouted over the roar of the car, "I was thinking of just wearing this,"

Riku instantly gave the boy a deadpan look as he switched off the engine, looking directly at Sora as he said, "Get in...now,"

"But I have to go ho-" But Riku would not let Sora finish as he repeated himself, "Get in...now," and Sora sighed, knowing there was no way out of it, he got into the teens car as he started it up once again and soon found themselves roaring down the road.

"You cannot turn up to the party dressed as you always do Sora, there has to be something different about you," Riku told the boy as they rounded a corner, Sora rolling his eyes as he said, "This is all i've got, nothing new, what can be done?" and Riku smiled as he said, "I'm doing it..." and Riku rounded a corner, which Sora noticed was going in the opposite direction.

"Ah, Riku, my house is back there," Sora pointed behind him, but Riku remained silent as he continued driving, "...Riku?" but Sora realized that the man was not going to give him a reason as to why he was kidnapping him, but Sora nevertheless withdrew his phone from his pocket as he punched in a number before holding the phone up to his ear. Riku smiled as he began to listen to Sora's half of the conversation.

"Hey dad...yeah fine, listen Riku's kidnapping me so i won't be coming home at all today...yes dad...yes, don't worry i'll be home tomorrow...yes i know what's happening tomorrow, look i've gotta go...yes i'll be safe...alright, bye," Sora hung up as he turned to Riku, who was smiling at the boy, as Sora rolled his eyes and said, "Parents,"

"Wouldn't know," Riku smiled as Sora looked around, and saw that there wasn't a lot of houses around anymore, and as he looked forward, he couldn't help but gasp.

What Sora could only assume was his property was rather large, a lot of nicely kept grass and a few trees here and there, but the entire area was locked off by a rather big wall. From the distance, Sora could make out the manor, and Sora realized that the building, while looking very old, was also very well kept, and Sora returned back to Riku, who smiled as he began to explain.

"My Grandfather was one of the first to travel to the Destiny Islands when it first began, by that time he was already a wealthy man, he helped built a lot of the housing on the Destiny Islands, which allowed him to own a large amount of land, where he built what is now known as Heartilly Manor. Ever since then it has housed my mother, and my father...though Dad usually spends his time in Edge, where SEED's main building is, and mum always travels...cannot remember the last time we were all together," Riku muttered sadly, but he shook it away as they came up to the gate, and a vibration echoed from his jeans as he took out his phone, which Sora instantly recognized as the latest ShinraTech Phone, known commonly as the sPhone+. Just like his sPlayer, the sPhone was made of pure glass, though the phone had a black band around the phone, which Sora only assumed was for the network signal.

Sora looked over and saw that the phone had asked him too key in a code, and Riku quickly typed in an 8-digit number, before the phone switched off again and the gates slowly opened up, Riku beginning the long drive up too the house.

"The latest in Shinra Security, though the house is old, dad likes to constantly upgrade it every time he is here, it's full of Shinra Technology and SEED security, it's an impenetrable fortress," as the car slowly glided up to the stone driveway, where Sora looked towards the manor.

If it had looked big before, it was nothing compared to what it looked up close. The entire place looked huge, with more then two dozen windows which showed different rooms. Outside in front of the Manor was a small fountain as they drove up right to the front, where a man in a suit swiftly came out. Riku drove around the fountain right to the door, leaving the engine on and jumping out and watched as Sora slowly got out, holding his bag as Riku turned to the man in front of him.

"Could you park the car for me in the garage, and begin preparations, we're going to have almost 100 kids here soon," and with a nod, the man got into the car and soon drove off to another part of the house.

"Wow, you're own butler huh?" Sora smirked, and Riku sighed, "Try 50, Mum pays for all of them, might as well get some use out of them...besides they make parties a lot easier to plan," and Riku walked up to the door as he opened it, allowing Sora entrance. As Sora thanked him and entered the building, he could not help but gasp when he entered.

The entire entrance hall was extremely big, a chandler hanging from the ceiling, a set of stair cases towards the back that swung broke out into a left and right area. Riku entered behind him as he made his way towards the staircase, saying as he did, "Right is dining room, Left is the entertainment and living room," as he began to walk up the stairs, Sora slowly began to follow him up the stairs, turning right as they began to walk through the East Wing, Riku naming a number of small rooms, the ones with a plaque on the door, were where some of the live-in staff members had rooms, while the empty rooms were where others could sleep. Sora could not believe what he was seeing as they finally reached the end of the corridor, where the door read "Riku's Room," and he opened it as he allowed his friend entrance.

The room was rather spacious, a queen sized bed in the right corner, a rather large flat screen television on the opposite wall next to the door, with several gaming consoles underneath. Opposite the bed was a bookshelf, which Sora was able to quickly take a glance at some of the titles, noting a number of fiction books that he was well known. But as he withdrew one of the books, Sora noticed that the copy looked like it had been read a number of times.

"Didn't know you were a reader Riku," Sora said, and Riku responded with, "Theres a lot you don't know about me," and with that he lead his friend over to his closet, where he turned on the light and led him inside.

Sora had expected a larger room, but while the walk in closet was spacious and had a number of clothing, Sora did not see anything great about it. As he turned around to make a comment, Sora noticed that Riku had moved to the light switch, where he had removed the cover, revealing another numeric keypad instead of the normal wiring that a lightswitch would normally have. Typing in another number, he replaced the cover and flicked the switch again, except this time, instead of the light turning off, Sora felt the floor vibrate and saw a trapdoor slowly open up, revealing a set of stairs.

Riku continued not saying a word as he began to walk down the stairs, Sora slowly following. The staircase was a tiny bit spacious, enough for both Sora and Riku to just fit side by side as they continued walking, with lighting on the walls to ensure they would not fall over. As they continued walking for about half a minute, the reached the bottom, where they found another door, this one with a eye and hand scanner.

As Riku followed the requirements, he explained to a bewildered Sora, "The one thing my grandfather loved was security. While building the manor he created several secret rooms, which he used in case the house was ever attacked...he was the most paranoid man i'd ever met, Yevon rest his soul," and with a final scan of his eye, the doors opened, and Riku stepped inside, followed by Sora, whose eyes widened at what he was seeing.

It was as if they had stepped into a small clothing and accessory store. The main area had a couple of seating areas in the middle and mirrors hanging off the wall, and was covered in dark red carpet, the walls a deep blue color. The main room broke off into 6 different smaller rooms, and as the two moved into the area, Riku pointed to each room, "Shirts, pants, shoes, jackets, accessories and a changing room,"

"You have a clothing store in your house," Sora muttered as he managed to find one of the seats, as Riku gave the boy a smile and said, "Mum converted this room into a place to keep her clothing, over time she has managed to transfer prototypes of all her latest clothes here, all different sizes and all the best, hopefully we will be able to find you something here,"

Still shocked at what he was witnessing, Sora said, "Who else knows about this?" and Riku smiled as he said, "Besides you, me, Kairi and my family? no one...can you imagine what sort of mayhem i would go through if my friends knew about this, i'd never get sleep...But i trust you Sora, you have your secrets...and I have mine," and with that Riku walked over to the shirts area.

Sora was completely stunned. Until now, he had always known that being the son of a Fashion designer he would have had a little money, but Riku wasn't just rich, to put it in simple terms, the boy was _freaking loaded_! But it wasn't the wealth that confused Sora, for he had always assumed that rich people were snobby and never wanted to get their hands dirty, but Riku was far from that. Riku was kind, he was a struggleman, he sought only to protect his friends, and was not afraid to get into the middle of a fight. Riku was clearly something different.

Sora shook his head as he looked towards Riku, who already had a pile of shirts, jeans, jackets and shoes to choose from. Sora looked up as he said, "You know this looks a little gay Riku, two guys going shopping for clothing?"

"Well if it helps i can always put on some manly music?" Riku smirked as he threw the clothes to Sora and directed him towards the dressing room, closing the door on him, "I'm not doing one of those 80's programs where i come out in different outfits every few seconds,"

"Oh good," Riku smirked as he pulled out his phone and began checking something on Recoded, "And for a minute there i thought you were going to do something tacky and cliche'ed," Riku waited but a few moments before Sora walked out, and Riku smirked as he said, "First time lucky i guess,"

Sora was dressed in a stylish pair of navy blue jeans, a v-neck black silk shirt and a black coat that reached down to his knees and came with matching black buckle. His shoes were Military boots, with a buckle on the inner side of the boot, and a zipper on the outer.

Sora rubbed the sleeves of his jacket as he said, "I feel so awkward in this Riku," and Riku shook his head as he said, "You look classy as hell Sora,"

"Well, at least thing's cannot get any more queer," he muttered as he placed his hands in his pocket, but the boy had spoken too soon as Riku said, "Accessories!" and grabbed him as he dragged him towards the only door that was guarded with a numeric keypad.

"Riku, you're losing your reputation of being a manly man by every second," Sora muttered as Riku punched in a final code before the doors opened, and Riku said, "You're going to love this," as he led him in.

The entire room was covered in drawers that reached the teens waist, all jet black. Sora watched as Riku walked up to one of the draws as he placed his palm on the cold top of the drawer, which lit up in a touch-screen connection. Sora's eyes widened as Riku said once again, "Very latest in ShinraTech," and Riku flicked through a list of items, before he touched one, tapped in the code, and watched as one of the draws opened up.

Sora watched in awe as Riku withdrew a number of watches, the very latest brands all in cases. Riku looked to Sora as he said, "Pick one,"

"Riku, I cannot take one of these watches," Sora said as he backed off, and Riku smiled as he picked up a solid silver one with a fine leather band, saying as he did, "Sora, you're my best friend, one of my only friends who didn't become friends with me because of who my parents were, therefore you can have wear whatever you want," and Riku handed Sora the item, which Sora graciously took as he smiled at the boy, "Thank you Riku,"

Riku smiled as he placed the other watches back, sealing the draw with a click as he walked over to another drawer, further in as he once again tapped something in, and again one of the drawers opened, this one revealing several expensive looking sunglasses. Riku looked over them before he picked a black pair with a gold rim, placing them on Sora as he said, "Perfect,"

"Riku, It's going to be night, I'm going to look like an idiot," Sora muttered, and Riku took a step back to admire his work, saying as he did, "Don't worry, women love idiots, and the more of an idiot you are, the better you'll look," and Sora sighed as he took the glasses off and slipped them onto his shirt, saying as he did, "There, now I still look like an idiot and i can see,"

Riku shrugged as he said, "Suit yourself," and Riku placed the glasses back into their drawer and sealed it before he allowed Sora to exit, where he ushered him to one of the mirror's and allowed him to look at what he was wearing. Sora smiled as he twirled this way and that, saying as he did, "Well...I guess i look good," and Riku slapped his friend on the back as he gathered his previous clothing, and together the two left Riku's private clothing collection as they headed back to his room.

Once Sora had exited the closet, Riku handed him his clothes before he re-entered the closet to get changed. Sora placed his clothing all folded up onto the bed as he said, "You know you could follow your mother in fashion designing,"

Riku laughed as he said, that's plan D. Plan A is to try to join SEED, plan B is to join the Guardian Corp," and Sora called out, "What's plan C?"

"Professional Masseuse," and Sora muttered, "Of course," Before a smile spread on his face and said, "For men or women?"

"Whoever pays the most Sora, whoever pays the most," Riku called out, and Sora laughed as the door opened and his friend stepped out, Dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans, stylish sneakers, a white dress shirt and black blazer with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of ray-band sunglasses perched in his hair and a ring on his ring finger. As he moved closer, Sora got a better look of the ring, and grabbed his friends hand to get a better look.

"Honorary SEED agent," Sora read out as his eyebrow rose and said, "Looks like you finished plan A a lot quicker then you thought you would,"

Riku rolled his eyes as he grabbed his hand back, "Dad gave it too me as an 18th birthday present, he owns a Director's one, this one was when he became a field agent," and Sora smirked as he said, "Whatever you say Riku," and Riku rolled his eyes as he said, "Come on troublemaker, we've got to find you a room yet," and Riku led the boy over towards the door, where he showed him a room two doors down from Riku's, and opened it up, showing him a smaller room then Riku's, but still a little spacious, which held a simple bed, drawer and tv set hanging from the wall.

"Have you ever considered renting your rooms out for traveling students, like a youth hostel?" Sora muttered, and Riku said, "Yeah, like i want a bunch of 19-20 year olds living in my house, i already have enough trouble with drunken classmates in my back year every party, I don't need them living here," and Sora chuckled as he placed his old clothing on the bed, sticking his hands in his pockets as they made their way back to the entrance hall, where Sora asked what the West Wing had to offer.

"That end is my parents bedroom, but instead of rooms for the staff it holds a Gym, Library, and a Computer room...I'm pretty sure my parents have a secret underground area in their room as well, but i have no idea what's in there...though i've always suspected dad turned it into a sort of "war room" where he could initiate conference calls and meetings from there,"

"Be pretty cool if that was true," Sora smirked, as they made it back to the entrance hall, Sora asked, "So, where are you planning on having the party," and Riku could not help but grin as he drew Sora to behind the raising staircase, where a set of glass doors lead to the backyard. Riku opened the doors, and Sora tried to prepare himself for what he was about to see as he followed his friend out of the Manor into the backyard.

No amount of preparation could have helped Sora for what he was seeing now. The entire area was incredibly large. A brick staircase lead down to a large party area, where people could dance, sing and have a good time. The area also held a DJ area, where Sora could only assume was for Hayner. Breaking off to two more stairs on either side of the dance area were another two concrete areas, where tables held different types of foods and drinks, and beyond that was miles of field which was all cut to perfection. Sora could see a Pool over in one area, a Struggle court in another, and even what Sora could only assume was a garage for all of his cars. Sora turned back to Riku, who was smiling as he said, "Yeah, I don't see anyone beating me in throwing parties,"

"You certainly are the party king aren't you Riku," Sora smiled as he looked towards the watch that Riku had forced onto his wrist, saying as he did, "Looks like people will be arriving soon," and just as Sora had said that, the sound of a doorbell rang from the manor.

"Speak of the devil," Sora muttered as he began to make his way towards the door, Riku smiled as he said, "Don't worry, someone'll get that," and Riku dragged him over towards the drinks table, where Sora noted that although he had picked up some lemon, grape and Poupu flavored soft drinks, he had also managed to pick up a number of alcoholic drinks, including the lemonade tasting Potion, the burning sensation that was MegaPotion, a Drink called Elixer, which from what Sora could read was alcohol mixed with Liquified Materia to induce psychological episodes or 'Hits', and should only be taken in shot form, and of course, Megalixer, which no doubt would be used by only the toughest.

As if on cue, Riku swiped the bottle from Sora's hands, and poured one into the plastic shot glass before he drained it, wiping his mouth as he said, "Now this is how you start the first day of holidays," and Sora rolled his eyes as he looked towards the door, a smile erupting on his face as he called out the name of their first guest.

"Kairi!" Sora ran up to her, and the auburn haired girl smiled as she walked to Sora, giving him a hug as she stepped back, giving him a good look as she said, "Well, looks like someone got a makeover, looks like Riku gave you a tour of his small clothing store downstairs," and Sora chuckled as he looked at what she was wearing; a pair of light blue jeans, a bright red top and a poupu star sitting lightly in her head. Sora smiled as he said, "You look great,"

Kairi smiled, before she looked towards Riku and grinned as she jumped out of Sora arm's and into Riku's, giving him just as long a hug. Sora scratched the back of his head before he slipped past the two and grabbed himself a bottle of Potion and began drinking, before he looked up and smiled who was coming down.

"Namine!" Sora called out, the timid girl dressed in a white skirt and blue jeans looked down and gave the boy a soft smile as they hugged, "Glad to see you at the party," and Namine chuckled as she said, "It's nice to see you too Sora," and both hugged again as Sora looked up and saw Roxas and Axel making their way towards the two. Sora took note of the small amount of glaring that he was doing, so Sora decided to make his way towards Axel, shaking his hand as he said, "Should be a good night, huh?" and Axel chuckled as he said, "Riku's parties tend to end up being the best," and he nodded as he made his way towards Riku, as another figure approached the group, and Sora smiled as he said, "Well hello there Xion,"

Xion, dressed in a small black dress smiled as she said, "You're too much of a danger Sora, and if you weren't dressed as you are now i wouldn't be talking to you,"

"But Xion, i thought you we're addicted to _bad _things like me," Sora retorted with a sneaky smile on his face as Xion could not help but let out a small chuckle, "Looks whose being assertive, i like that," and Sora grinned as he hugged the woman, as he gave her a small kiss on each cheek, and Xion smiled as she responded with, "Remind me to repay the favor later," and with a tap on his nose, Xion made her way to Riku.

It didn't take long before more students began to find their way, and like Xion, some were impressed with Sora's new dress sense, though nobody was asking where he had gotten it, and was glad. The last thing he wanted to do was come up with some lie that he would more then likely get caught in. Sora shook hands with more people, and began to find himself drinking more and more, a smile staining his face as he found himself talking to Namine about her summer.

"...and hopefully by the time school starts up again, i should have most of my Major work done," Namine smiled as she took a small sip of her Potion.

"Well, you deserve it, I've seen some of those drawings, they are absolutely fantastic," Sora staggered, and Namine could not help but giggle at his state, "How much have you had to drink Sora?"

"Only..." Sora stopped as he tried to could how much Potion bottles and Megalixer shots he had downed, losing count a few times before he grinned and said, "...a lot," and Namine shook her head with a smile on her face, before he felt someone tapping on his shoulder, and he turned around to face Roxas.

"Hello Roxas!" Sora said, a little louder then he would have liked, but Roxas nonetheless nodded as he said, "Would you mind if i asked Namine to dance?"

"Of course i'll dance with you Roxas!" Sora shouted out, and Roxas shook his head as Namine chuckled and leaned over to Sora, "I think he was asking me...will you be alright Sora,"

Sora chuckled at his mistake before he shook his head, managing to sober up just a tiny bit as he said, "I'll be fine, go dance," and with a smile, Sora patted Roxas on the back as he managed to find one of the many seats near the drinks area, where Axel was currently sitting, staring and smiling as he sipped his MegaPotion.

"Sora? I thought you were hitting it off with Namine?" Axel asked, and Sora smiled as he took a seat and said, "Roxas wanted a dance with the girl," and Sora and Axel both looked at the two as they smiled, before a question formed in Sora's mind as he turned to Axel, "So, what is with Roxas and Namine? I see them hanging out a bit, and he kinda gets defensive whenever i'm near her,"

"Don't take it personally Sora, Roxas' doesn't like when men talk to Namine, he's had a thing for her for a while, but he's just too shy to do anything about it,"

"Well he's doing something about it now," Sora pointed at the two jumping up and down to the dancing, and Axel smiled, saying as he did, "Well, Roxas is a complicated person,"

"Yeah tell me about it," Sora muttered, as he leaned to Axel and said, "You know, ever since i've gotten to the school, I've been under the impression that Roxas...well, hates me,"

Axel could not help but chortle a bit at this, saying as he did, "Roxas? hating someone? I don't think that boy knows how to hate, he's friendly with anyone that comes along," and Sora could not help but scratch the back of his head. He knew that Roxas had acted a bit cold towards him, and had always been under the assumption that he had known about his condition. But then again, he had never said anything to anyone, or from what he had gathered, never even done the research on Sora.

Regardless, he watched the two dancing together, and noted that they did look happy in each other's presence, and as he smiled, he decided that he would steer clear of Namine while Roxas was around, at least until Roxas had plucked up the courage to ask Namine out. They did, after all, look good together.

As the music continued, Sora watched as Riku walked up to Hayner, who was getting into the music he was pumping, and saw the teen whisper into the DJ's ear, a smile spreading as nodded his head before typing something into the keyboard as he gave Riku two microphones. Riku then scanned the crowd until he had found Axel, and nodded his head as he smirked, Sora looking to Axel as he said, "What's going on?"

"Well Sora," Axel smirked as he ran a hand through his red bangs and got up, "You're about to find out why people really like to come to these events Riku makes," and both watched as Riku spoke into the mic.

"How you guys doing? You enjoying the night?" Riku spoke through the mike, and the roars and cheers of the crowd sounded back. Riku was a bit blown away as chuckled, saying as he did, "Definitely sounds like you're having a good night," and he waved at many of the people there before he began again.

"So I was thinking, I might do a little song here for you...and my partner would join us," Riku smirked, and without further explanation, Riku nodded to Hayner, who pressed a button on his keyboard.

_Every day I see my dream.  
Every day I see my dream._

As the song continued playing the same words, over and over again coming from the DJ's table, everyone looked around with smiles on their faces as they waited for what would come, before Riku took aim and threw the mic, aiming straight for Axel as he stepped forward and grabbed the mic, smiling as he did as he ran a hand through his hair and yelled out, "I see my dream son!" Before he made his way into the crowd, smiling as he did as he began to sing.

_Every time I dive in my pool.  
It's hard to be humble  
When I do the breast stroke through an underground tunnel.  
And come up on the other side in a jacuzzi  
Being greeted by two naked models with suds on their booties._

Sora could not help but chuckle as the boy seemed to put on some serious moves, pointing and winking at certain girls who all seemed to be cheering and yelling as loud as they could. Sora watched as he placed a hand on one of the girls, giving a quick wink before he continued.

_They give me hugs and lots of kisses,  
And they ask me what my wish is I say  
"Go and call yo bitches." Cause there's gonna be a party.  
Next they wash my body as a team and then they say  
"Lea, your royal penis is clean."_

Sora was surprised that Axel had used his real name as apposed to Axel, but did not dwell too much on it as he watched Axel jump up on stage and both began to sing, complementing their singing with small amount of dancing and shuffling.

_And I'm like,  
Yes, It's on and poppin'  
Yes, the parties rockin'  
Yes, the cuties shockin'  
Yes, and there ain't no stoppin'_

More chorus' of 'Everyday I see my Dream' sounded from the DJ as Axel looked towards Riku, nodding his head as the teen smiled, before he took a seat on the steps, holding the mike close to his mouth as he began the second verse.

_Wakin' up next to a beautiful girl.  
Step outside and say hello to my beautiful world.  
Grandma's cookin' breakfast, she makes pancakes the best.  
I check my Recoded and I got a lot of friend request.  
Yes, _

Riku smirked as he winked to one of the girls as he stood up, doing a small amount of dancing as he swayed this way and that, smiling at all the people as he waved his hands this way and that as he continued dancing.

_I get to dancin' as I,  
Walk through my mansion cause I,  
Own property from Radiant Garden to Twilight and I,  
Sip from my water fountain that dispenses soda.  
Look out the window and wave at my nextdoor neighbor Vanille "Huh"_

Making reference to news star Vanille Oerba, Both Riku and Axel looked at each other as they grinned, before making their way into the crowd, waving their hands around as people gave them a little room for them to shuffle this way and that as Riku continued singing.

_I check to see how my albums doin' today.  
The group N-O-R-A-A goes double platinum, "HEYY"!.  
I got to party man.  
That's how I live, so I take my elevator  
To the club in my crib like,_

Sora smirked as everyone began waving their hands this way and that, cheering as they began to sing along with the two boys. Sora was surprised when he found that he was singing, and couldn't help but find Kairi, who was dancing with a few friends, Namine and Roxas who were dancing off of each other, and Xion who seemed to have already found a dance partner whom she was currently grinding off of.

_Yes, It's on and poppin'  
Yes, the party's rockin'  
Yes, the cuties shockin'  
Yes, and there ain't no stoppin'_

The song ended how it had started, with copious amounts of "Everyday I see my dream" as the sound from the music was drowned out by the cheers of the crowd, as Riku and Axel both shouted out, "Enjoy the night!" as they returned the mic's back to Hayner, who shook their hands as he continued playing music. Axel seemed to be enjoying the attention he was receiving from the ladies as Riku made his way through the crowd, laughing and shaking hands before they had all began to dance to the music that was currently on, Riku quickly located his best friend as he sat down, breathing heavily as he wiped the sweat from his head, smiling as Sora said, "So...what the heck was that?"

Riku chuckled as he explained, "Back last year, me and Axel started a hip hop group called No Obligations, Rules or Authority Association, which we shortened to NORAA. We were a hit at a couple of parties, but nothing more...now we just come out whenever we want to,"

"Seems like you got quite a fan-base," Sora smirked as he looked to the crowd, some of which were still waving and looking in Riku's direction, noticing that Kairi was smiling at the two boys as they both waved at Kairi, Sora looked towards Riku as he said, "So tell me about your relationship with Kairi?"

Riku looked at Sora as he said, "Who told you we were ever in a relationship?" and Sora smiled as he said, "You just did bud," to which Riku smirked as he punched the boy in the arm, saying as he did, "Who taught you to be devious,"

"I dunno, I think a couple of the things my best friend did caused me to learn," and Sora rubbed his arm which thanks to the Alcohol was not the least bit painful, and Riku sighed as he leaned against the chair, "Me and Kairi met when we both started going to Twilight Heights, and we dated at the beginning of the 10th grade, and it was nice, she was a lovely girl...I'd say more but you might hit me,"

Sora scoffed as he said, "Not in my condition," before he allowed Riku to continue, "Well, after a while it looked like she was wanting more out of the relationship, so mid last year i broke up with her...it was tough for a few weeks, but in the end we decided to remain friends...though sometimes i get the feeling that she wants to rekindle what we had,"

Sora was a little hurt that the girl he liked had feelings for his best friend as he took another sip of potion, making sure to market his life to some romantic-comedic movie deal. He looked at Riku, who already had a smile on his face as he said, "I didn't know you had feelings for the girl," to which Sora said, "Thought it would have been obvious by now,"

"Well actually I was trying to be nice, the truth is it's really obvious," and Sora smirked as he shoved his friend, as they both looked to Kairi who was now dancing with Roxas and Namine.

"Why don't you ask her to dance?" Riku asked, and Sora looked to him as he began to shy away, saying as he did, "She looks busy at the moment," and Riku scoffed at the boy as he said, "Busy? She's dancing with Roxas and Namine, come on, you go over there, maybe romance her in the dancing, she'll be all over-"

But Riku had to stop as he looked to his friend, who now had his eyes closed and was breathing deeply, hugging his bottle of potion. Sighing at his friend, he carefully managed to get the bottle out of his hand, saying as he did, "Well...maybe the next party,"

**_x_**

_Heartilly Manor._

_Destiny Islands._

_The Next Morning..._

**_x_**

Sora grumbled as he slowly managed to wake up, yawning as he did as he looked around. He couldn't remember falling asleep, and he certainly did not remember making it back to the room that Riku had allowed him to stay in. Sora pushed the covers off of him as he stretched, noticing that someone had placed the coat he had received onto the bed, as well as the military boots on the floor. Still sleeping in the designer clothing that he had been given, he looked around and saw his clothing had been folded and placed in a bag which was leaning against his bedside table, which held three items; A note, his phone and his wallet.

Sora reached for the note first, which he noticed was in Riku's scribbly writing. It took his hungover mind to read what was in it, and after a few tries, he managed to read what it was saying.

_Sora_

_Hope you enjoyed the night, had to leave quickly but there is a driver waiting to take you home when you're ready, Oh, and the clothing...keep it, i've got plenty more. Enjoy your holidays._

_Riku._

Sora sighed as he crumpled the piece of paper as he considered ignoring what Riku had written and get changed, but as he made to take off his shirt, he saw his phone vibrating. Slowly reaching for it, he noticed that it was his dad, who had already tried to contact him. Sighing, he reached for the phone and opened it.

"Sora! where the hell are you? Our plane leaves in 2 hours? you still have to pack," Cloud yelled from the phone

"Shit," Sora muttered under his breath as he grabbed his wallet, the bag of clothing and the jacket and shoes as he began running out of his room down the stairs and towards the front door, "I'll be there in 20, Sorry," and hanging up, Sora dashed out the door, where true to Riku's word, a car was waiting out the front. Sora jumped in and almost yelled his address to the poor driver as he hurriedly tried to put his shoes on as the car made its way towards his house.

**_x_**

_Edge State Airport_

_Edge_

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The airport was already crowded with many people, all bustling with people making their way this way and that towards their designated plane. However, out of all the people standing around, two who were making their way out of the check-out area were busy carrying their items as they managed to push through the crowd, one blonde the other brunette, and both sharing the last name of Strife.

"So, who is this friend of yours dad?" Sora asked as he tried to re-adjust his bag for the eleventh time that day, and Cloud looked this way and that as he said, "He's an old army buddy of mine, I told you all this before?"

"Does before mean when i was hurriedly trying to pack? Cause i didn't hear a word you said then," Sora muttered as he followed his dad towards one of the other exits.

"Well if you had come home to pack before you went to your friends party, you wouldn't have been in such a rush," and Sora turned to his father as he said, "How is it suddenly my fault that Riku kidnapped me?

But Cloud ignored this as they finally managed to reach their checkpoint, and they scanned their tickets as they were finally allowed out of the area and into the main entrance, where people were bring reunited by friends, family and lovers in tearful hugs of joy. Sora stayed close to his father as he looked around, scanning the crowd before his eyes finally found who they were looking for, and Cloud could not help but grin as he grabbed his son's arm and lead him towards what Sora could only assume was his friend.

As they pushed through the last of the crowd into an open space, Sora and Cloud stopped as they stood in front of a man. The man, dressed in a sharp black suit, had short brown spiky hair, a lot shorter then Sora's which seemed to go down rather then out. His blue eyes were just as piercing as Sora's, but while Sora's face was clean from scar's, this man had a scar across the left side of his noes.

"Sora, allow me to introduce you to an old friend of mine who saved my life more then once, now the Director of SEED, Squall Leonhart,"

Sora's eyes widened as the man held out his hand, saying as he did, "Just call me Leon kid," and Sora could not help but let out a cough. He knew who this man was, he was the father of his best friend.

"Oh, and here's my son, also visiting from the Destiny Islands," Leon pointed towards a teen who was busy looking at someone else, as he turned around and locked eyes with Sora, both froze as they let out a cry of each other's name.

"Sora!?"

"Riku!?"

**_x_**

**_Song: _**_Yes - LMFAO_

**Well well well, looks like those two will be spending their holidays together...but will they be the only ones? :O i guess you'll have to wait and see.**

**I cannot believe i managed to write about 8 and a half thousand words in one day, im that tired :P the things i do for my awesome fans, i love you all guys, i know i say that alot, but you guys are really just that awesome, especially the ones who review; **Guest **(Who are you stranger? please let me know D: ) **Keyblades of Oblivion, Lion5589, DestinyKeyblader28, Random Reader 17, Bond of Frost, Ironratgage, SiChri, EthanFlux and KairiAngel035. **You guys, this is for you xD you're all so wonderful, some people think i shower my fans in too much love, but i say boo to them xD**

**Anyway, i'm not sure when part II of IV will be up, but i shall hopefully update soonish :) until then, love you all, take care and hope you have enjoyed the chapter.**

**Jared Someone.**


	15. On Holiday: Part II

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_XIV_**

**_x_**

_Edge State Airport._

_Edge_

_Present Day._

**_x_**

"Sora, allow me to introduce you to an old friend of mine who saved my life more then once, now the Director of SEED, Squall Leonhart,"

"Just call me Leon kid...Oh, and here's my son, also visiting from the Destiny Islands,"

"Sora!?"

"Riku!?"

Both stared at each other in disbelief as they slowly made their way towards each other, saying at the same time, "What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

Leon and Cloud both looked from son to son as Leon asked, "You know him Riku?"

"Know him? This idiot is my best friend," Riku smiled as he slapped Sora on the shoulder, and both hugged the other, chuckling as they did.

"What a small planet," Leon let out a small smile as he shook Sora's hand once again, "Well, if you're a friend of my sons, and the adopted boy of Strife here, then you are already good in my books," and Sora smiled as he shook the mans hand, saying as he did, "Thank you sir,"

"Back in the old days where i was just a Private, Leon was the best Lieutenant our squad could ask for. We looked out for each other until he was Lieutenant Colonel and I was a Captain...of course, back then we got into a lot more trouble,"

"Trouble? The only trouble i remember was those two girls you tried to set us up with," Leon smirked as they began making their way out of the room.

"How was i suppose to know they were enemy agents?" Cloud smirked as Leon rolled his eyes, "It's the only time i was glad one of us had a pistol strapped to his thigh," and both Sora and Riku roared with laugher as they finally found their way outside the building as Sora managed to say, "Which one had it?" to which Cloud and Leon looked at each other, before saying, "I think it's best we don't say, some things should be left to the imagination,"

"A very disturbing imagination," Riku muttered as Sora chortled, looking this way and that before they saw two town cars gliding their way towards them. As they stopped, Sora looked towards Leon as he answered his unasked question, "Being Director of SEED does have its perks, including use of their cars," and Riku led Sora to one of the cars, calling out to both Cloud and Leon that they would meet them at the hotel before his luggage was pushed into the boot and Sora into the car, before Riku sat in the front and the car was soon making its way away from the airport and into the streets of Edge.

The entire city was huge, everything about it seemed to be upsized. From the buildings to the screens showing advertisement to sports scores to even upcoming TV shows. Sora looked out the window as he tried to look at the entire city, as much as he could, but he could not see all of it at once. Sora looked this way and that as his eyes widened with a smile on his face, although most of his memories in Edge weren't as good as the other memories, he could not help but smile, his friend Riku by his side, he believed that those memories could be replaced with new ones.

Riku smirked as he looked towards his friend, saying as he did, "So, how badly was my house left?" and Sora's attention turned to that morning as he tried to remember, saying as he did, "Wouldn't know, by the time i woke up i was getting a rude awaking from my father," and Riku smirked as he turned back, Sora wondering something as he looked towards Riku.

"Hang on, we were rushing to the airport, how did you manage to get here before us with ease?" and Riku smirked as he said, "One of the Helicopter's owned by SEED picked me up in the early hours on the morning from Dark Margin Airport," and Riku smirked as Sora sweat-dropped, saying as he did, "So, you couldn't have given us a lift or anything?"

"Hey, had i known that you were coming, i would have given you AND your dad a lift," and Sora reached out and pushed his friend as they both laughed.

As the car continued to roar through the streets, Sora continuing to look around, he noticed where they were. Sora had known about this side of Edge, it was well known for having some of the classiest, not to mention the most expensive hotels around, each with state of the art security and technology, with pools, hot houses and other great places one could relax. Edge's high-class section was known throughout Gaia as the second greatest area on the planet, closely behind the Casino and entertainment island that was Radiant Garden.

As the car began to slow down, Sora could not help but gasp as they finally reached their destination, the building was the largest of all of the hotel's in Edge, and clearly looked like the best, with doormen and bell-boys all ready to serve the people coming out, but as Sora got a closer look, he gasped as he suddenly realized where they were.

"Memory's Skyscraper," Sora managed to say, as Riku smirked as he said, "The best of the best for the Director, his son and his friends," and the two boys managed to get out of the car as they slowly turned to get their luggage, still looking at the marvelous building before them.

26 stories high, with what looked like 15 rooms across, Memory's Skyscraper was considered the ultimate in hotel accommodation. Though it's official name, Memory's Skyscraper was in fact the official name of several different hotels across the globe. Beginning in the Destiny Islands' Radiant Garden, the hotel's were considered top class, with connections both to Shinra's Security and Technology devisions as well as several other corporations, it was never a cheap place to stay, and Sora was glad that Riku's father was paying for their stay.

The two boys didn't have to wait long before the second town car pulled up, and both Cloud and Leon stepped out, laughing as they did at some memory that Sora could only assume was from their days in the Guardian Corps. As they drew closer, Sora picked up on some of the conversation.

"...and then you decided the best thing to do was to show them your dog tags," Cloud laughed, and Leon chuckled, saying as he did, "How was i suppose to know that we had wondered into enemy territory,"

"Beside's the giant logo on their tent?" Cloud managed to get out after sharp breaths of laugher, and Leon rolled his eyes as he turned to the boys, "Well, glad you two made it to the place,"

"Cannot believe we're staying in Memory's Skyscraper," Sora muttered with awe as Cloud grasped his son by the shoulder, saying as he did, "This is the first christmas in our new life, you deserve to have a good time," and Sora smirked as the four made their way into the building.

The entire place was bustling, people entering and exiting, all with suitcases and day planners. Sora and Riku both looked around as they watched Leon making his way towards the front desk, talking with the man on the counter before he returned, chucking a set of card-key's to Cloud and Sora, who both caught it at the same time.

"Room 377 guys, right underneath the Penthouse room, you'll be across from us," Leon said as he lead the three towards the elevator, not having to wait too long before the doors opened up as a few people made their way out of the room.

The four entered along with a few other people, and as they all pressed the button to their rooms, Sora noticed that a lot of them were near the bottom of the hotel. They did not have to wait long before the final couple made their way out to Floor 3, before the doors close, and Sora felt the elevator launch up, passing the other floors quite quickly, so that within a few seconds, the doors were opening at Floor 25, and Sora whistled as they walked out, "That was quick,"

"These Hotels are known for that," Riku smiled as they began to make their way down the hall, which looked like it had been cleaned regularly, with a few beautiful flowers here and there, and each door with a card scanner and solid gold numbers to indicate which room was which. Sora and Riku both looked this way and that before they finally reached their rooms, and both families smiled as they said they would meet up later for drinks, before they began to make their way inside their own rooms.

But as they began to step foot into the rooms, a sound coming from further down the small hallway made both Sora and Riku's eyes widen.

"No _freaking _way!"

Both the boy's knew that voice very well, and they both slowly turned to the direction of the voice, to see a girl standing out of her door, wide eyed. A girl who both the boys were extremely familiar with, and who both had no idea would be in Edge, let alone in the same floor in the same hotel that they were.

"Kairi!?" Sora and Riku both shouted out, causing both Cloud and Leon to look from their rooms, and also someone else to open the door that Kairi had just left.

The first thing to notice about the woman was her light pink hair, that while would have looked strange on anyone else, for some reason it actually suited the woman. Her eyes, which looked blue, though Sora believed that there was a tiny bit of green in them, though he wasn't sure, were currently looking from Kairi to the two boys, though the look was as if she was trying to read them, to try and figure out their primary goals, passions and beliefs.

After a few seconds, the woman turned to Kairi and said, "Something wrong dear?" and Kairi was quick to look at her mother as she said, "Mum, those are my two friends," and Kairi ran up to both Sora and Riku hugging each of them before saying, "What are you doing here?"

"We're on vacation, how in the world did you get here...why are you here?" Riku said with a smile on his face, as Kairi smirked, "Of course you wouldn't remember Riku," and Riku looked at her curiously, before she laughed, "My aunt, Serah?"

"Oh right," Riku slapped himself, and Sora looked from the two, still confused as he felt the answer Kairi had given had still not answered the questions that Riku had asked, and Sora waited for a few moments before she looked at the boy and laughed, saying as she did, "Oh, of course, I never told you...My Aunt Serah, who still lives in Gran Pulse is a member on the Memory's Skyscraper Board of Directors, so she can give free accommodation and transport to any Memory's Skyscraper building on the planet, we always spend christmas' here or in Gran Pulse," Kairi smiled as she hugged the two once again, before looking to the two dad's, saying as she did, "Hello Mr. Strife, good to see you again,"

"Call me Cloud please Kairi, and it's good to see you again," and Cloud smiled as Kairi looked from the man to Leon, and grinned as she said, "Been a while Mr. Leonhart,"

"Certainly has been," and Kairi grinned as she looked back to her mum, before she said, "Oh, sorry mum, guys this is my mother. Mum, you remember Riku and Squall Leonhart, and this is Sora and Cloud Strife," and Kairi's mother smiled as she held her hand out and introduced herself to Cloud and Sora, "Detective Claire Farron, Twilight Police Department...but call me Lightning, everyone does," and both Cloud and Leon shook her hands, saying a polite "How do you do?" to Lightning, who seemed to be giving the two men the same look that she had given Sora and Riku, before she smiled and turned to Sora.

"So, Sora, how long have you known my dear Sparky?"

This statement caused two completely different reactions to erupt. Kairi's eyes widened in shock as she slowly looked to her mother, while both Sora and Riku tried to hide a laugh in a cough as they looked towards Lightning, "Sparky?" They both said in disbelief.

"What? You don't call her Sparky?" Lightning asked, and Sora and Riku looked at each other with smiles on their faces as they said, "Oh, we do now,"

"Anyway!" Kairi cut the tension as she said, "I'm feeling like a bit of a walk, why don't we go see a movie or something?" and Riku smirked as she said, "Sounds like a good idea Sparky,"

"Oh Yevon," She muttered to herself as she began to walk away, saying a quick goodbye to her mother as she did, as the two boys placed their luggage down and said goodbye to their dads, Sora saying as he did, "Hey, wait up Sparky,"

"Where are you going Sparky?" Riku shouted as they managed to reach the elevator before it closed, the last words they heard from their children was their constant teasing of Kairi's nickname. Both Cloud and Leon chuckled as they took their son's bags along with their own, bade a goodbye to Lightning and entered the room.

As the doors of the bottom floor finally opened, Sora and Riku were both thrown out of the Elevator, hitting the floor harder then anything as they slowly looked up to witness the young girl growling at the two. With a strength brought about by her anger, she grabbed the two by the collar and brought them close to her face, "And that's why you should never call me Sparky...again...EVER!"

Both boys slowly nodded their heads as she gave them a smile before letting them go, allowing them to fall to the ground as Kairi's mood changed from that of angry to happy, "I feel like seeing a comedy, what about you?" to which both the boys nodded, willing to give Kairi anything at that moment, and watched as Kairi made her way out of the doors, ignoring the looks that people were giving both herself and the boys. Slowly picking themselves up, they began to follow Kairi, with grins on their faces, Sora running a hand through his previously tidy hair, Riku rubbing the back of his neck as they finally made their way out of the buildings.

Although the area looked busy, and one could certainly get lost in the busy streets, Kairi looked like she knew where she was going. Sora, who had lived in the more neighborhood area of Edge, was unfamiliar with the entire setting, having been in this side of Edge maybe once or twice when he had lived there. Soon they had turned their third corner, and Sora noticed the large Movie Theatre, which Sora wow'ed as he continued walking with both Riku and Kairi as they finally entered the building.

From the moment that Sora entered the building, the smell of hot buttered popcorn entered his nostrils, as well the voices of dozens of people trying to decide what movie they would see. Sora noticed that the Movie Theatre was similar to Dawn's movie theatre, which held a larger Hologram Projector that displayed current movie trailers as well as times, though this one was in the shape of a triangle, with two screens showing trailers and the other swapping between the times of different movies.

"Hmm what too see," Kairi tapped her chin, while she looked over to Riku and Sora, who seemed to be interesting in a movie that was playing. Shaking her head with a smile on her face, she finally picked a movie and walked over to the two, stating as she did, "Come on, we're gonna watch that new 'God's of Olympus' movie," and Sora and Riku nodded their heads, knowing they had no choice as they purchased their tickets, before Sora managed to escape for a few moments to buy a large bucket of popcorn and Lemon soda, before returning back to the two who were busy getting their tickets scanned.

"Oh, popcorn, thanks Sora," Kairi smiled as she grabbed a rather large handful of the delectable movie food, causing Sora to say, "Oi!"

"Mmm, buttered too," Riku smiled as he grabbed his own handful, and Sora tried to hide the bucket from the two, saying as he did, "Get off you seagulls! Go buy your own food!"

"Whatever happened to sharing?" Kairi said as she tried to get another handful, but Sora raised the bucked away from her, saying as he did, "Sharing my arse! this cost me 7munny, if you want some so desperately, go buy your own!" and he shook his head as he walked away from the two to the room that was showing their movie.

Kairi and Riku smirked as an idea formed in their head, following Sora at a distance as they entered the rather large room, the screen bigger then any in Riku's house. Both scanned the room before Riku nudged Kairi, pointing to a point high up, where Sora had sat in the middle of three convenient seats.

With sly looks on their faces, they managed to walk up in a calm and cool fashion as they finally reached Sora's row, and made their way to the seats. Kairi sitting on Sora's left, with Riku sitting on his right, both staring at Sora with smiles on their faces. It took Sora a moment to notice, as he seemed to be interested in one of the ad's that offered a decently priced Gran Pulsian Meal around the corner. When he looked to Kairi, whose smile showed that she was already planing something devious, he looked to Riku, who had the same look on his face, he began to put two and two together, before he shook his head.

"No," He said slowly, his voice full of warning, but as the two hands began to get closer, Sora hugged his bucket of popcorn as he said again, "No, that's not-" But never got to finish he sentence as the hands of the two shot towards the bucket, and after a few moments of struggling and cries for help, the two set's of hands emerged victorious with their own large handfuls of popcorn, that reduced Sora's amount to only a third of the bucket. Giving the two dead-pan looks as the lights began to fade, Sora muttered, "I hate the both of you," and Kairi and Riku just patted the boy on his head as they began to munch on their reward as the movie began.

The movie in the whole was rather funny. Sora enjoyed the plot, which from what he could gather was about a greek god who was banished to earth in the 21st century, and had to learn their ways. The three spent most of their time laughing while eating. The popcorn they had fought over was gone within the first few moments, and the salty popcorn caused both Riku and Kairi to begin to steal Sora's Lemon drink, to which Sora instantly just threw at Riku and grumbled back into his seat as the two began to share over the poor boy.

As the credits finally rolled, the three rose from their seats as they began to make their way amongst the other movie-viewers out of the room. Sora with his arms folded not looking at the two friends who were currently laughing harder then anything.

"Oh, come on Sora," Kairi smirked as she pushed the boy, and he just shook his head, "Nope, not going to forgive you that easily," and both Kairi and Riku looked at each other formed smiles on their faces, before they came up behind Sora and have him a rather big hug.

"Guys!" Sora whined just like a little child, "You know i can't be angry at you if you hug me!" and the three broke into laughter as they made their way out of the building, all three looking as if they were the best of friends as they left the building, laughing and pushing each other, as Sora looked past Kairi, his smile lowered as he saw something.

Throughout the entire crowd Sora saw a small boy, looking about 6 or 7, with scruffy light brown hair, standing throughout the crowd. Sora's eyes widened, clearly he knew this kid, whoever he was, but Sora could not bring himself to call out to him. Instead, the two just locked eyes, everything else going silent, before he felt someone slap him on the back.

"You alright Sora?" Sora turned to look at Riku, before he looked back to where the kid had been standing, but there was no one there, it was as if he had vanished into thin air. Taking a deep breath, he slowly nodded his head at his friend, before the three began walking, Sora still had the mental image of the boy, before Vanitas' voice entered his mind.

_"You know who that was Sora," _and Sora shook his head, trying to block out the voice, before it sounded again, _"What you did Sora, what you did to that poor boy..."_

"Shut up," Sora barely whispered, so as not to receive glances Riku and Kairi, but Vanitas continued to speak, _"It was necessary, he was collateral damage for what those boys were doing to you," _

"Nobody deserved that," Sora muttered as he felt a tear well up in his eye, before he heard Riku's voice and he wiped the tear away as he turned to his friend, placing a smile on his face as he turned to him.

"Well, guess i'll see you two round," he heard Riku say, and Sora looked around, realizing that they were not only back at Memory's Skyscraper, but Sora was now standing in front of his room.

Sora took a moment to compose himself, before he said a goodbye to the two, noticing the look of concern on Kairi's face and trying to give her his most reassuring smile before he scanned his card against the scanner before making his way into the room.

The room was rather spacious, a small hallway where two bedrooms were too his right, coming out of the hallway, a kitchen area to his left, and further along a dining and living area, where in the back left wall was a door leading to a balcony area. Sora looked around in awe before he found his dad, reading a newspaper as he looked up, saying as he did, "Oh good, you're home,"

Sora smiled as he stretched, slowly sitting down as he said, "What's up?" and Cloud smiled as he said, "Do you remember my old boss?"

"Vaguely," Sora muttered, trying to remember the one time that he met the Director of the WRO, before Cloud said, "Well, he's hosting one of his many parties that he likes to host, and he's invited both of us," and Sora smiled as he nodded his head, a party was definitely what the boy needed, and Cloud smiled as he said, "Oh, any before you ask, yes Riku and Kairi have been invited," and Sora fist-pumped as he began to walk away, glad that he would not be stuck in a room full of adults for the rest of the night.

Sora moved to his room as he sat down on the edge of his bed, stretching as he lay down, his mind going over what had happened over the last several hours. He had not only run into his best friend Riku, but also Kairi, an occurrence that most would feel was unbelievable, though Sora found that he was glad that this unbelievable occurrence had occurred. For some reason, Sora felt more calm then he had beforehand, both for the fact that his friends were there, and that he had someone that could keep him calm, and keep his emotions from getting the better of him.

As Sora breathed deeply and smiled, a knock on the door caused Sora to jump a tiny bit. Reaching for his phone in his coat pocket, he realized that he had half an hour to get ready. Calling out that he would be out soon, he took off his jacket and removed his shirt, just as he heard the door opening up, Sora quickly turned around towards the door, his eyes widened as he saw the door quickly close, but not quick enough for Sora, as he realized that Kairi had just tried to get into the room.

Sighing, growing a little red around his cheeks, he changed into his usual white shirt, black jeans and sneakers, but placed the jacket back on, buttoning it up and tightening the buckle on it before he moved out of his room, waiting at the door for a moment as he took a deep breath, before opening the door and stepping out into the room.

Sora could not see his father, but who he did see was Kairi, sitting on the couch, dressed in a short dark pink dress with a small red jacket that barely passed her chest. A look of awkwardness plastered over her face. Sora made a small coughing noise as Kairi was startled, looking at Sora as a small bit of red made her way over her face as she began to talk, "You're dad's already at the party, i was waiting for you,"

Sora gave the girl a small smirk as he said, "Good too see you as well Kairi," and he walked up to his friend as he gave her a small hug, before looking around as he said, "Where's Riku?"

"He's already at the party, i think he went up with his dad," Kairi explained suddenly as she tucked a small bit of her Auburn hair behind her ear, neither one talking for a few moments before Sora looked around, saying as he did, "So, maybe we should go now?" and Kairi nodded her head as she began to make her way out of the room, followed by a bemused Sora as he placed his hands in his pockets, making sure that he had his phone and card key before locking the door.

As they entered the elevator, Kairi reached into the small pocket of her short red jacket, removing a silver key as she said, "Your dad also gave me this," Sora watched as she scanned the panel before locating a small insert. Placing the card in, the Penthouse button, which before had remained blank, suddenly lit up showing a green letter 'P'. Pressing it, the Elevator began to raise, and within a few seconds, the doors opened up, allowing Sora and Kairi to step out.

The Penthouse was rather large, and looked less like a room and more like a club. A bar was in the right corner, which was currently the location of a few staff members all serving free drinks to any of the patrons. A dance floor was in the middle, which seemed to be lit up with dance lights and other crazy contraptions, a balcony taking up the entire left hand side wall, and in the back centre was a a DJ who seemed to be enjoying his time. Sora looked around, taking note of both the official looking men and women all dressed in suits, to some of the other party-goers who were dressed in the latest fashion, some of which Sora remembered seeing in Riku's storage area.

Sora and Kairi were standing around in awe for a few moments before Sora heard his name being called out. Looking towards the source of the noise, he found it in the form of his father, who was dressed in a black suit along with some of the others there. Smiling, he led Kairi over to where his father was talking to a rather gruff looking man, with short blonde hair, blue eyes and a cigar sitting in his mouth. Dressed in a black suit like the rest, he looked over the two before he said, "This your kid Strife?"

"Right Cid, Sora, This is Director Highwind, Director of the World Restoration Organization, and my old boss," Cloud introduced his old boss, and Sora held his hand out to shake, saying as he did, "It's a pleasure to meet you sir,"

"No need for any of that sir business, this is a party son," Cid said, his gruff voice speaking a bit louder then everyone else's, as he grasped Sora's hand and shook it, rather firmly then he would have liked, but Sora smiled nonetheless as he released the grip, turning to Kairi as he introduced her, "This is my friend, Kairi Farron,"

"Pleasure to meet you Miss Farron," Cid said once again as he lightly shook her hand, and Kairi smiled as she said, "Pleasure to meet you as well,"

"Now, foods all there, as well as drinks...you guys are 18 right?" and Sora and Kairi looked at each other, not sure how to answer, but they didn't have to as Cid said, "Ahh, doesn't matter, most of the law enforcement won't care, they're all here anyway," and Cid laughed as the two looked at each other with grins on their faces, to which Cloud looked weary, saying as he did, "You sure that's a good thing Cid?"

"Ahh come on Strife, you're kid's almost 18, let him have some fun...and I'm sure he'll look after his girlfriend," Cid pointed to the girl, to which Sora and Kairi looked at each other, shaking their heads as they pointed to the other, saying at the same time, "Oh, we're not together," to which Cid merely raised his eyebrow and began talking to some other important figure. Cloud, however, could not help but stare at the two with a smirk on his face.

Sora scratched the back of his neck as he looked around, seeing something to take away the awkward situation, and grabbing Kairi by the arm, he dragged her to another area of the room, where Sora and Kairi stopped in front of their best friend, and his father, both who were dressed in sharp suits with thin black ties.

"Looking good Riku," Kairi smiled as both Sora and Riku fist-bumped. Riku smirked at the two as he said, "You two don't look so bad yourselves," and Sora stretched as he said, "Come on, let's go get a drink," and Riku raised his eyes as he said, "You allowed to?" and Sora smirked as he said, "Well, I was offered a drink from the Director of the WRO," to which Riku could not help but let out a laugh, saying as he did, "In that case, first rounds on me,"

As the three began making their way towards the bar, Kairi raised a question that had been in far in the back of her mind for some time now, "Do either of you know why the WRO is called that, I mean they only deal with Gaia, not the world,"

Although Riku opened his mouth ready to answer, it was Sora who managed to jump in first, "Well, the WRO was formed when Gaia believed it was the only society on the planet, a lot of people have petitioned for it to renamed the Gaian Restoration Organization, but WRO is the original name, it's like History...that's why they kept it," Sora smirked as Riku closed him mouth and instead nodded his head in regards to what Sora had just said, and Kairi could not help but smile at the knowledge Sora had.

Reaching the bar, Riku ordered three glasses of MegaPotion, which was poured out into fine looking glasses. The three friends began drinking from the glasses, each feeling the effect's almost instantly as they found things a lot more funnier. Before too long, they were having a bottle of Potion as Sora was dragged away from his friends by his dad, who seemed to want to introduce him to someone. As Sora looked around, he noticed that there was a lot more famous people around, from news reporters to TV personalities to...

"Zack Fair!" Cloud said proudly, and Sora's eyes widened as a man with spiky black hair, blue eyes and a sharp suit turned around, smiling at the boy while Sora's eyes widened, the action movie star was standing just a few feet from him, Sora's mouth dropped open as all he could do was stare, gasping as all he could do was shake the man's hand, who laughed as he said, "This your kid captain?"

Cloud laughed as he said, "Don't mind him Zack, he's just met one of his heroes...and don't call me Captain, we're not in the Guardian Corps anymore,"

"Just remember your place Captain," Zack winked as Cloud laughed, turning to Sora as he explained, "Back in the old days, Zack here was a Major, always beating me by just that little bit...yeah, Leon, Zack and myself were well known as a group of troublemakers in the service," Cloud and Zack laughed, to which Sora just could not believe it. His father, being buddies with one of the greatest action movie heroes the planet had ever seen.

"Then after being discharged, I used that military training to start works in being a stunt-double, and before i knew it i was starring in the AVALANCHE series, among other movies," Zack smirked as he drained the MegaPotion from his glass, before he said, "Back in a moment fella's, gotta get a drink," and Zack made his way through the crowd of people, Sora merely starring in awe as he laughed, Cloud smirking as he did, "Good huh?"

"Cannot believe you know Zack Fair," Sora laughed, and Cloud slapped his son on the back as he looked around at the party, which by now was well in full swing, with people dancing, singing and the first sign of some people starting to make out. Cloud looked around until something caught his eye, as he nudged his son and pointed somewhere over in the corner, saying as he did, "Well, looks like someone is getting lucky," and Sora looked over to where his father was pointing.

In the corner Riku, who seemed to have had quite a bit to drink, was locking lips with someone Sora could not recognize. At first he thought it might have been Kairi, and his heart sank a little bit, but as he got a better look, Sora realized that the girl, or more accurately the woman looked in her early 30's, her hair was bright red and in a ponytail, and the more the two looked, the more familiar the woman got, until Cloud snapped his fingers and said, "Vanille Oerba,"

"Of course," Sora nodded his head, before his eyes widened as he said, "Wow, cannot believe he hooked in with Vanille,"

Sora and Cloud continued watching as Leon walked over to the two with a drink in his hands, saying as he did, "That's my boy," and Sora and Cloud both looked at the man, surprised that he was applauding his son for making out with someone 10 years his senior, no matter if she was the hottest woman on the news.

As the three kept watching, Zack made his way back towards the three, looking at who they were starring at, before he looked at the three men, "Come on guys, what are you 15? have a little common-" But stopped when he got a better look at the two "...is that DemyxNews Host Vanille Oerba?" and the three nodded their head, as Zack continued, "And whose that she's making out with?"

"His son," Both Sora and Cloud pointed to Leon, not breaking sight as Zack held out his fist to Leon, "Raised a good boy there Colonel," and Leon returned the fist bump as they continued watching for a few moments, before Sora shook his head and said, "Come on guys, we shouldn't be starring,"

"Good point, let's wait till he's finished, then we'll go and congratulate him," Cloud said, and Leon and Zack nodded as Sora rolled his eyes, trying to find somewhere else to look, until his eyes locked on too something which made him stare solemnly.

Standing on the balcony area looking out into the star's was an Auburn haired girl, and although Sora could not see her face, he knew that she was upset. Muttering something about being back, he slowly began to push past the many party people who were all cheering and enjoying the night, as he slowly pushed the door opened, and stepped out into the cold lonely area.

"Hey Kai," Sora said softly, and Sora heard a sniff followed by a hiccup as the girl slowly turned around, taking note of the soft tear before Kairi had a chance to wipe it away, "Oh, hey Sora, had to get some fresh air and something got in my eye," Kairi chuckled sadly as Sora looked too the glass that was perched against the barrier.

Pointing at the glass, Sora asked softly, "How much have you had Kai," and Kairi looked at the glass, before she took a breath and shook her head, saying as she did, "Not much," Sora raised his eyebrow as Kairi made to step away, stumbling as she did, and fell towards the floor, being caught by Sora as she let out a small yelp, before she looked into his eyes, saying as she did, "That was a good catch,"

"I'm good at catching Kairi," Sora smiled as he made sure that she wasn't going to fall again before he let go, Sora said, "So, you gonna tell me why you are really out here?" to which Kairi sighed as she took a deep breath, saying as she did, "I'm surprised you didn't see Miss Reporter and Riku going at it," and Kairi had a hint of jealousy in her voice, and Sora smirked as he leaned back against the barrier.

"So, you have a thing for Riku?" Sora asked, and Kairi looked up as she said, "Well...maybe a little thing,"

"From what he has told me, you still have feelings for him," Sora asked as he felt his heart sink a little further as Kairi rose her two fingers, saying as she did, "Maybe a little feelings," to which Sora rolled his eyes as the girl who was making no sense speaking wise.

"Well, if you ask me, Riku's missing out on something good here," Sora smirked, and Kairi looked at Sora as she leaned forward, saying as she did, "That's a really lovely thing to say Sora,"

Sora shrugged as Kairi leaned forward again, saying as she did, "You know, I saw you half naked before," giggling as she placed a hand against his clothed chest, looking up into Sora's eyes as the boy looked down into her eyes, saying as he did, "Yeah, i saw,"

"You're really...built," Kairi managed to say, as she grinned and Sora chuckled as he looked away, sighing as he said, "Yeah, and I don't even go to-" But Sora never finished his statement, as in that moment, Kairi leaned up, balancing herself on the boys as she began to kiss him.

At first the kiss was soft, as if Kairi was merely testing the waters to see what Sora would do. But as the seconds passed, and they were still locked, the kiss became a lot faster. Kairi wrapped her arms around the boy, placing her hands on the back of his head as she pushed his lips as close to hers as she could. Sora closed his eyes as the kissing continued, her lips tasting like sweet strawberries and taking no note of the MegaPotion breath that she had.

But just as soon as the moment of blissful silence had occurred, the voice Sora knew was coming echoed, _"That's it Sora, she tastes so good, and she's drunk, you could have it all Sora, she wants you, why don't you give her what she wants,"_

Those last few words caused the boy to push the girl away from him, as his eyes were widened as he wiped his mouth, breathing heavily as he tried to regain control, looking up at Kairi after a few moments as she gave him a look of confusion. After a few deep breaths he looked into her eyes as he said, "Kairi, I don't think we should do this,"

"Why not Sora?" She asked in a playful attitude as she wrapped her arms around him, bringing him closer as she said, "I want you, and I want you to want me back,"

"Kairi," Sora grabbed her arms as slowly pushed her off him as he grabbed her hands as he said, "I don't think you want me..." Sora closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, before he looked away from the girl as he said slowly, "...I think you want the Silver-haired boy in there," Sora nodded towards the party as Kairi looked from him to the party, her eyes slowly widening as she slowly withdrew her hands, saying as she did, "Oh Yevon," before she turned and ran back inside the party.

Although Sora wanted more then anything to follow her back inside, and even more to continue what they were doing, he sighed, a sick gut feeling forming in his stomach. He leaned back against the railing as he crossed his hands, feeling the cold air forcing its way against his skin harder then before, as he shivered, he slowly pushed himself back inside the party, not looking towards anyone as he made his way towards the elevator, slamming his fist against the 'down button' as he waited a few seconds before the doors opened, and as he walked in, pressing the button with his back against the happiness of everyone else, he felt a tear well up as he said but a few words, to the girl who was currently crying in her room, who could not here him.

"I'm Sorry, Kairi..."

**x**

**WOW, now wasn't that emotional! **

**now, I'm sorry it's been a week, i've been jam packed, i won't say much, but what i will say is i lost money in poker, worked my arse off, and in amongst the chaos that is my life i've managed to get this chapter done.**

**I'll keep this quick cause its 11:30 at night here, and i do need my sleep, but i wanna thank these lovely people; **Steph, EthanFlux, lion5589, SiChri, Lenchkumaximus, DestinyKeyblader28, KairiAngel035, Random Reader 17, Keyblades of Oblivion and Ironratgage (**And a shoutout to Ironratgage's girlfriend, Happy Birthday, and I hope you enjoy the party :) **)

**Finally, I want to give a special shoutout to Fanfiction member **Bond of Frost, **Who posted the 100th Review on Jenova, wow cannot believe i reached 100, so happy, thank you to every one of you lovely people, you just make me want to post so much :3 and as for Bond of Frost, I'll decide how i'll celebrate you posting the 100th Review, though it might just be cyber-hugs.**

**Now what can i say about the next chapter? well all I'm going to say is i am SUPER EXCITED to write it and get it out there, and this chapter is when everything is going to change for everyone, so stay tuned, and remember to read and review, and lets see if we can make it too 200 reviews.**

**Jared Someone.**


	16. On Holiday: Part III

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_XV_**

**_x_**

_Memory's Skyscraper, Room 377._

_Edge_

_Present Day._

**_x_**

_Jen-ova..._

_Jen-ova..._

_...Jenova!_

The early morning brought a bright sunlight that shone through the tiny crack in the empty room. From there, the entire living room was empty, save for one person. Someone who had not gotten any sleep for the past week. As the clock chimed 7, the boy blinked a few times as he groaned, and ran a hand through his messy brown hair.

Sora sighed as he straightened up, another night of barely getting any sleep, he scratched his chest as he slowly managed to get up, walking over to the side table where he had been sleeping, his room being too hot for the boy during the night. He managed to locate his phone, which was sitting next to his wallet and sPlayer. Flipping the screen, he smirked as he said to himself, "Merry Christmas,"

A noise from his fathers room caused Sora to turn his head as his father, dressed in a pair of long black pajama pants walked out, stretching as he said, "I'm so glad I'm on holidays, I could not bare to go to work today,"

Sora smirked as he walked up to his father, saying as he did, "Yeah, that's the thing I love about school holidays,"

"Well cherish it," Cloud smirked as he walked over to the cupboard and removed a bowl, "This is your last one," and Sora smiled as he gave his father a hug, saying as he did, "Merry Christmas dad,"

"And too you son," Cloud responded as he returned the hug, saying as he did, "Now, get dressed, we're going for a walk around Edge National Park," and Sora smiled as he slowly made his way back to his room. Changing into his standard shirt, jeans and biker jacket, he moved into the bathroom, where he splashed water on his face as he took a look into the mirror.

Starring back at him was a teenager who looked worried sick over something. Lately he felt his body getting a lot more pale then usual, though that was more then likely due to the fact of what had happened at the party. Since then, Sora and Kairi had taken the event as a night of drunken mistakes, and Kairi was glad that She had not made any more a fool of herself. Though she stated that she didn't remember much of what had happened, Sora was sure that she knew more then she was letting on, though it wasn't something that he was going to push further.

Running a wet hand through his hair, he applied a brush to it the bangs all falling into place nicely. Clearing some of the flakey skin from his face, he looked back, and the color of his skin had returned to normal. Sora shook his head as he made his way back into the living room, where Cloud, who was dressed in a fine pair of dark blue jeans, a black dress shirt and a long black coat, ended a phone call before slipping the phone back into his pocket.

"Come on, we've got a town car waiting downstairs," and Sora smiled as both the Strife men made their way out of the door, down the hallway and towards the elevator. Making their way into the Elevator, the two did not have to wait long before they had reached the lobby.

As the doors opened, the two found dozens of people making their way out, all celebrating a Merry Christmas, which Sora and Cloud were happy to return. They both looked at all the decorations around, and could not help but grin at the happiness that seemed to be infecting everyone. They finally managed to bypass the many happy people as they finally reached the doors, entering the cold brisk air as Sora zipped up his jacket and Cloud did up his coat, they both managed to locate their town car and within minutes were zipping through the traffic, managing to just beat the hundreds of cars that were making their way to family houses to celebrate christmas as their car glided into the parking lot of the park, where both Sora and Cloud got out, Cloud muttering to the driver that they would be half an hour.

As they began walking along the pathway, Sora took the time to look around the area, surveying the large lake in the middle of the park, the dozens of trees and luscious green grass that covered the entire area. Sora smiled at the families who had decided they would spend time looking in the park, spending their christmas outside in the cold fresh air. Sora looked to Cloud, and he smiled as he pulled out a small box, handing it too Sora as they continued walking.

"This Item is probably my most prized possession, it was given to me by my father, and his father, and so on through 14 generations of Strifes...I know that it is worth quite a bit due to its history, but I wouldn't sell it for all the money in the world," Cloud smiled as Sora slowly took the wrapping paper off the box, and opened it.

Inside was a crown, no bigger then a small ping-pong ball, and was made of steel, but as Sora slowly picked it up, it was Weightless, finding it even lighter then a ping-pong ball. It was connected to a silver chair, which just like the crown was lightless. He stared at it in awe as he looked to Cloud, saying as he did, "I can't-"

"You can," Cloud smiled as he took the crown necklace and placed it around his son's neck, saying as he did, "Because no matter what anyone says, you are my son...you are worthy of the name Strife, and that-" tapping the crown that sat lightly on Sora's neck, "Is all the proof that you will ever need,"

Sora could feel himself getting a little teary eyed as he chuckled, touching the crown that now sat loosely around his neck, and he looked into his fathers eyes as he smiled, saying as he did, "Thank you dad," and Cloud hugged his son as they both continued walking, Sora laughed as he said, "And I didn't give you a thing,"

Cloud laughed as he nudged his son, saying as he did, "You give me endless happiness being your father every day, and dont you forget it," and together father and son continued walking around the park, enjoying the fresh air and the christmas day together, not letting anything get them down on that happy day.

**x**

_Edge State Airport_

_Edge_

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The entire airport was bustling with people all carrying luggage, most were tourists making their way to their designated stations, where their planes would take them back to their homes just in time for New Years Eve. The week had gone by quicker then anything since Christmas, and between that week christmas celebrations had ended, and soon preparations for new year's had begun.

Through the rotating doors, Cloud and Sora Strife entered, each carrying their luggage, they placed it down as they looked towards the outgoing Domestic flights, finding their plane quickly. As they looked at each other and nodded, Sora turned around as they saw Riku and Kairi make their way into the building, walking towards the two with smiles on their faces.

"That was the shortest holiday ever," Sora groaned as his two friends laughed at the boy, saying as they did, "You do know we still have a few weeks before we go back to school Sora," and Sora nodded as he said, "Yes, I know that...but it still does not make it any easier on my part,"

Kairi and Riku both smiled at the boy, as Cloud turned around and said to the two, "Well guys, say bye to your parents for us, our plane goes in half an hour,"

"Sora," Kairi said softly, causing only the boy to turn in curiosity, "Do you mind if I talk to you...privately?" and Sora looked at her with a smile on his face before he nodded, turning to Cloud as he said, "Dad, give me a few minutes,"

"Alright, just don't be too long," and Sora nodded as he turned to Riku, who merely nodded, knowing that the two wanted some private time, and walked off with Cloud to talk about his father.

As the two found themselves alone in the crowded airport, neither said a word to the other, Sora waiting for Kairi to say something, but she was busy trying to form the words into her mouth. Sora stared at her as he ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck.

Finally, Kairi broke the silence as she said, "Listen, I wanted to talk about the Christmas eve party...and that kiss,"

"Kairi, you don't-" Sora began, but Kairi shook her head as she continued, ignoring what Sora was saying, "I know we already talked about it, and that everything is fine...but I can't help but return back to that night...I know I was drunk, but...maybe..."

"Kairi," Sora stopped the girl as she stopped, a blush appearing on her face as she looked at her hands which were now being held by Sora, "Emotions were on the table, we both had had too much to drink, and I'm not going to take anything you said or did to heart, seeing as we were both drunk,"

Kairi looked into Sora's eyes, sighing as she looked away as Sora said, "The truth is that maybe there is some feelings there, but I don't want you to feel like you have to commit to anything you did simply for something you did under the influence," and Kairi nodded her head, as Sora breathed out a sigh with a smile on his face, though hidden behind the facade was worry.

The truth was that this was the second time he had been placed in a position where he had felt passion, and just like the first time, Sora had felt Vanitas appearing, his lust taking over a little too much than he would have liked, and the last thing that he wanted was Vanitas to cause a rift between himself and Kairi.

Kairi gave the boy a sad smile as she nodded her head, saying as she did, "You're right...I guess we shouldn't be deciding the future on one night,"

"We're lucky it was just a kiss Kairi," Sora chuckled, and Kairi rolled her eyes as she nudged Sora as the two laughed and made their way back towards the two, Sora saying as he did, "Still, New Years eve is tonight, so you never know what will happen there," and Kairi smirked, giving the boy a nudge once again but keeping the small smile on her face as they made it back to Riku and Cloud, the former who was typing something into the notes application on his phone, saying as he did, "No way, what else did he do,"

"Well, we were once in this gentleman's club while we were in Balamb, and Leon actually had no idea what a gentleman's club was...the look on his face was absolutely priceless when we walked in,"

"No kidding," An evil smirk appeared on the boys face as Kairi looked at him with a small amount of confusion on her face, but Sora had gathered what Riku was doing as he smirked, "Do you really need blackmail material over your dad who spends most of his time here?"

"It's like having a really flashy car Sora, you don't need to have it, but it's better if you do," Riku winked as he pocketed the phone, saying as he did, "So, you keen for tonight?" and Sora laughed as he nodded his head.

"I cannot believe you managed to plan a New Year's Eve party on the beaches of Destiny Islands while you were on vacation here," Sora smirked, and Kairi said, "Don't underestimate Riku's party planning abilities Sora, I once saw this kid plan a birthday bash at the Heartilly mansion while he was under surveillance from his father, mother AND half the staff of SEED," and Sora could not help but raise his eyebrow, a look that showed that Sora was clearly impressed.

"So, how are you getting there?" Sora asked, and the two looked at each other with sneaky smirks plastered over their face, Riku saying as they did, "Trust me Sora, you won't be able to miss us," and Sora could not help but chuckle as he shook his best friends hand, and gave a quick hug to Kairi, who seemed to want to hold it longer then he did, before the Strife men bade a final goodbye and made their way through the barriers.

The trip back was nothing exciting, the plane ride was comfortable and quick, Sora barely paying any attention to the staff on board the plane, or the in flight movie he was sure he had seen almost a dozen times before. Instead he had placed his headphones in, turned up the volume so it was loud enough to block out the world, and yet not so loud that he was bothering other passengers of the flight.

As the hours passed, Sora drifting between sleep and the waking world as his eyes glanced over the clouds, he was tapped on the shoulder by his father, and soon he was slowly making his way down the tarmac and back into the Dark Margin Airport. After managing to scan through the final barriers, the two men finally arrived, luggage in hands as they soon managed to locate the car they had left in the parking designated to those who were flying throughout Gaia.

It didn't take long before the two were on their way back to their house, and just like in the plane, Sora was non-responsive to anything. Cloud spent half on his time looking at his son, before he took a breath and tapped him on the shoulder. Sora took a moment before he removed the headphones and said, "Yes?"

"You ok Sora?" Cloud asked, his concern echoed throughout the car as Sora took a moment before he nodded his head, saying as he did, "Yeah...just got a lot on my mind dad,"

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the kiss you and Kairi shared at Director Highwind's party would it," and Sora's eyes widened as he said, "How did you-"

"When one has a teenage son who is drinking, one ensure's that the teenage son does not leave one's sight," Cloud could not help but smile as Sora looked away, clearly embarrassed.

Silence entered the car once again, as Sora took a deep breath as he said, "I'm afraid dad," and Cloud looked at his son, who could not help but look at him with confusion, "Afraid of what Sora?"

"When i was...kissing Kairi...I could not help but begin to feel different..." Sora muttered, and Cloud smirked as he said, "Kissing a drunk girl for the first time can be-"

"Dad, it wasn't that," Sora shook his head, and Cloud fell silent, allowing Sora to continue, "When i was kissing her, something inside of me felt...different, the voice in my head, it started to scare me...like it wanted to do something to Kairi," Sora began to feel the pit in his stomach extend, as he tried to look away from Cloud, and look past his face in the reflection of the window, but he could not help it when Cloud had placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Sora, regardless of who you are, and your condition, you are always going to face tough challenges throughout your lifetime...the trick will be at the end of the day to look deep in your heart, and it will give you the path to follow," Cloud turned back to the road, but a smile stained the face of the man, as Sora looked at his father, that same smile spread over his face as he softly said, "Thanks Dad," and Cloud smiled as he nodded his head, as the car turned a corner, and soon drove up the driveway of their house.

Unloading their luggage didn't take too long, and before Sora knew it he was lying on his bed with his eyes closed, breathing deeply as he began to think about not only the few weeks that he had gone through, but also the upcoming New Years Eve party that Riku had planned. Thoughts entered and exited the young boys mind, everything from who would be there, to what would happen to him, for some reason Sora could not shake the feeling that something would happen tonight, but the more that he began to think about it, the more his head started to hurt.

Opening his eyes and seeing that the hours had passed since he had returned home, Sora jumped off his bed as he walked to his bag, opening it up and taking out the coat that he had received from Riku weeks ago. Shaking it, and seeing the wrinkles disappear, he changed into the same type of shirt and pants he had worn, before he splashed on some deodorant and took out the stylish boots he had also received from Riku, before he took the coat he had placed on his bed and walked down the stairs.

As he passed his dad, Cloud could not help but pick up the smell of his son as he looked up and said, "For anybody I know?"

"Shut up dad," Sora rolled his eyes as buttoned up his coat, fastening the buckle as he looked around, before saying out loud, "Have you seen my phone?"

"Have you looked in your bag?" Cloud responded, and Sora stopped as he mentally slapped himself, and ran up the stairs, returning a few moments later as he checked the time on his phone, saying as he did, "Right on time," and looked up as he smiled at his dad, who smirked back.

"You know the rules, If you're gonna be out late, let me know, call me when you're coming home, and just be safe," Cloud's speech caused Sora to roll his eyes as he responded, "I'm always safe dad," and Cloud could not help but smile at his son as he said, "I know, but it makes me feel a little better,"

Sora nodded his head as he gave his dad a quick hug, saying as he did, "Happy New Years," and with that, he turned and walked out the front door, leaving Cloud to look at him with a smile on his face.

Sora placed his hands into the pockets of the coat as he made his way down the street, already feeling the cold air that was making its way against his skin. As the wind gathered up his hair, Sora ran a hand through it as he turned into the final street, seeing the beach just ahead, and could not help but place a smile on his face.

Although it was still the early hours of the evening, many of the students from Twilight Heights High, as well as some other students who were from a school that Sora could not recognize were already standing and talking. Around these students, Sora saw what looked like a giant woodpile which still had not been lit on fire, the makings of what looked like a giant fire was set up. Sora also took note of the many plastic bags, and personal bags that Sora could only assume was filled with Alcohol, both for their own consumption and for others to drink.

Sora made his way down to the beach, where he already drew the attention of a few students, mainly those he knew from school. Sora already took note of a few girls whom Sora did not recognize were already giving him a look over, but he ignored them as managed to find someone who made him smile.

"Axel!" Sora called out, causing several people to turn, one of which was a flame-haired young man who smiled as he said, "Sora, good to see you again," and the two men hugged, laughing as Axel turned to wave at two other friends, Sora looking to where Axel was before a smile grew across his face, saying as he did, "Namine! Roxas!"

The two looked over at Sora and Axel, and made their way towards the two. Sora could not help but take note of the fact that it looked like Roxas was being dragged by Namine. As they made their way towards the two, Namine hugged Sora, saying as she did, "Sora! How are you," Sora smiled as he said, "Good, and yourself,"

"I'm great," Namine responded, as she moved herself out of Sora's arms as she moved on to Axel, where Roxas said, "Sora," and the teen nodded his head as the two briefly shook hands, before Roxas said a more warm hello to Axel. Sora smirked as he looked around, managing to take a Potion that someone was passing around as he opened the bottle and began to drink. As Sora began to feel the potion take effect, he smirked as he saw who was walking around, and called out, "Xion!"

The young girl, dressed in a very elegant short black silk dress and a matching black coat smiled as she walked towards him, giving him a rather long hug as she leaned back, saying as she did, "Did you get a tan while in Edge Sora?"

"Glad someone noticed," Sora smirked as he looked towards his three friends who were talking with each other and looked back at Xion as he gave the girl a kiss on the cheek, who smirked as she said, "Such innocence Sora,"  
"Check back with me in two hours," Sora winked and Xion laughed as they released each other, Sora saying as he did, "How was your christmas?" to which Xion shrugged as she said, "As boring as you would expect," and Sora nodded his head as he laughed, taking a potion that was being passed around and handing it too the girl, who looked from the bottle to Sora, saying as she did, "My, how you know me so well," and Sora smirked as he watched Xion take the bottle and drain it.

Sora smirked as watched Xion go for another bottle, knowing that Xion was going to ensure this was a fun night, Sora heard a noise coming from the distance. Sora slowly turned around, watching as a small object in the sky, way in the distance began to get closer and closer. Sora shaded his eyes to get a better look, and smirked as he realized exactly what it was.

"You terrible man, you could get your father fired," Sora could not help but smirk as others began to notice the noise, and turned their heads to get a better look, their eyes widening when they realized what was coming towards them, and all looked in awe.

A helicopter was slowly making its way towards the partying young people, who were all in a total stance of amazement as the helicopter, Which Sora instantly recognized was a SEED Helicopter, began to descend towards the party, landing far away so that the sand that kicked up would not get into the face of the others, who could do nothing else but stop and stare in awe as the helicopter slowly touched down onto the sand.

Sora smirked as he watched the doors of the helicopter open, and two teenagers, one an elegant young woman dressed in a pair of black designer jeans, a scarlet tank top and a small black leather coat, the other a ruggedly handsome man, dressed in a pair of tight black jeans, a white v-neck cut shirt and a blazer with the sleeves rolled up both jumped out of the helicopter and began walking towards the group of now about a hundred different students.

As they got closer, most of the students now realized that the two students were Riku and Kairi, some of which were cheering at the sight of the party-maker and his beautiful date, but as the two smirked and waved, Kairi soon found Sora and grinned as she ran up to the boy and hugged him, Sora hugging her back with a smile on his face, and despite it being early in the party, Sora already knew that this was going to be the best moment of the night.

"Glad to see you made it alright," Sora smiled, and Kairi grinned as she hugged the boy once again, saying as she did, "Yeah, there was a point where I thought we were going to crash into the sea, but luckily we survived," and both the teens laughed as they watched Riku make his way through the crowd, standing at a point where everyone could see him, before he called out to the crowd.

"Hello Everybody!" the sound of the teenager rang throughout the area, as many already tipsy young boys and girls cheered at the sound of Riku, who already had a giant grin on his face as he waited for it to quieten down a tiny bit before he continued, "How are you all enjoying the night?" and once again the loud cheering of everyone there made Riku smile as he placed his hands into his pocket.

"Every New Years, I do my best to give you all the best start to the year imaginable, and this year is absolutely no exception," Riku cheered as everyone else roared in appreciation as he reached into his pocket and withdrew a lighter, moving towards the large bonfire as he picked up one of the pieces of wood as he began to light the top of it, the small fire beginning to expand as he raised it into the air.

"Music, drinking, and good clean fun, this is what my parties are known for, so for all of you out there, let the party..." and with his final words, Riku threw the wood into the bonfire as it slowly began to spread, "...BEGIN!" and with the final cheer in the air, Sora watched as the pile of wood began to roar with fire, the heat a blissful alternative to the cold salty air of the beach.

The music began to play loudly than anything, the thought of disrupting the neighbors on the other side of the road disappeared as the music blared across the sea, and everyone cheered and screamed in delight. Sora watched on as many of the people began to party louder and louder, with the sky growing darker and darker, and yet the light of the bonfire shinning perfectly and illuminating everyone around.

Sora took a sip from his potion as he felt someone slap him across the belt, Sora looked up as he saw Riku grinning like an idiot towards him, Sora smirked as he said, "Having a good time?"

"I am having an _Awesome _time Sora," Riku grinned as he took a sip of his drink, and Sora could not help but smile at his friend as he asked, "How much of that have you had?" as he tapped Riku's glass with his own.

Riku grinned as he said, "I have forgotten, and I don't care," and Sora could not help but laugh as he took a drink, and watched as Axel stumbled his way over to the two, saying as he did, "Strife! Leonhart! how the hell are you two?" and both the boys laughed as they nodded their head, Sora saying as he did, "Fantastic, and you?"

"I am bloody brilliant," Axel smirked with a grin that Sora knew had trouble written all over it, and Sora looked towards Riku, who looked at the man, wondering what he was thinking about as Axel reached into his pocket, and withdrew an Item as he threw it into the air and caught it, giving Sora a good look at what was in his hand.

The Item was a small ball, about the size of a struggle ball, but made of what looked like glass. The entire ball was blood red, and glowed with a light that shone in the darkness. Axel looked from Sora to Riku to the red ball, before he smirked and threw the ball towards Sora.

They boy caught the ball just as fast as it had been thrown, before he stared at it, confused at first. But as he held it up to the light, it shinning in the moonlight that had just appeared, he realized exactly what he was holding, "This is-"

"Materia!" Axel called out in both delight and deviousness as he looked at Sora, who in turn looked at Riku, who was looking at the ball wondering what Axel was playing at. Eventually, Sora was the one who asked, "Why are you handing me Materia Axel?"

"Why do you think Sora?" and instantly Sora knew what the boy was talking about, and he shook his head as he said, "No, Axel. No!"

"Come on Sora, have some fun," Axel winked, and Sora shook his head as he looked towards Riku, who had a smirk on his face as he nudged his best friend, wondering what he would do, Sora just looked at the two, wondering what he should do, before he shook his head and tried to hand the object back to Axel, but the teenager merely shook his head as he said, "Come on Sora, have you ever tried Materia before?"

Sora shook his head, and Axel smirked as he pushed it back into his friends hand, saying as he did, "It won't hurt you Sora, just try it once, and if you don't like it you never have to do it again," Axel was pretty convincing, though this might have been because of the alcohol in his system.

Sora looked back at the Materia sitting softly in his hands, He felt the weight of this tiny ball in his hands as he looked once again to Axel, who was eager for the boy to do what he wanted him to do. Sora sighed as he placed the ball gently onto his wrist, before he covered the ball with his hand, closed his eyes and pushed the ball into his wrist.

The moment he felt the Materia enter his system, his entire body suddenly felt less tense then it had been originally. Then just as quickly, he began to lose feeling of everything, from his best friend sitting next to him to the heat radiating from the fire. Sora looked around, and it felt like it took at least a half a minute before he looked at Riku, who had a tiny look of worry on his face as he said, "You ok Sora?"

Suddenly, Sora felt a smile spread over his face, as if he could feel each and every muscle moving to aline his mouth into a smile as he said, "I'm fantastic Riku," Sora did not know what was happening, but he was loving every moment of it, his entire body felt like just lying down in the sand, and contemplate every single thing about his life, for the rest of his life.

But then, something else happened in his body, he felt an energy shoot through every inch of his body, and suddenly he found himself standing up, his eyes gazed over everything in the area, and he wondered what he should do next. The next thing he knew he was hugging Kairi, who looked at him laughing and said, "Thanks Sora, you do too," but Sora had no idea what he had just said to the girl, and as he turned around, he found himself dancing with a girl with whom he did not recognize, a girl with brown hair.

Sora held a hand to his head as he found himself sitting a fair way away from the fire, despite swearing that he had been close to the flames not a few seconds ago. He looked to his watch as it said 9:30, but as he blinked he realized that the time was now 11:32, 2 hours had passed in the blink of an eye, and he looked down, realizing his shoes were missing, and he touched his neck and found a red substance that smelled oddly of strawberries, though he did not remember being near the fruit...or anyone with that kind of lipstick.

As he turned around once again, he found himself sitting down, where he was looking at Riku, but as he blinked, he watched as his friends usual long hair began to disappear into a much shorter length. Sora reached out and his fingers brushed against the hair, but he watched at the hair began to turn black merely from his touch. Sora's eyes widened as he suddenly jumped up, and he began walking, watching as the water continued changing different colors with the blink of an eye, before he began to hear other people talking.

"What's wrong with Sora?"

"Who is that kid?"

"Materia doesn't do that to someone,"

"Is he alright?"

Sora shook his head as he found himself standing with a group of people, all who were looking towards Riku, and it took Sora all of his concentration just to here what the man was saying, "Alright everyone! New Years begins in 20! 19! 19!..."

New Years! Something clicked in Sora's mind, tracing back to a conversation he had had. And the Materia seemed to be helping him, as in front of him was a memory, the memory of that morning, where he had made a joke to Kairi involving who he would kiss for New Years. As the memory that was playing in front of him disappeared, he looked this way and that before he found what he was looking for.

Standing next to Roxas, as if a light had shone from the darkness to light up the person he was looking for, was Kairi. Somehow she glowed with a smile plastered on her face. Sora stood starring for a moment, before the sound of the countdown reaching the last ten seconds made the boy suddenly shake his head and push through the crowd, until he had finally reached the girl. Without waiting for her reaction, Sora cupped his hands around her face, and leaned in, giving her a light but passionate kiss.

As the moments passed, Sora broke the kiss with a smile on his face, but suddenly the smile began to fade, and Sora had to blink more then once. The Auburn hair that he could have sworn was there not a few moments ago had disappeared, and had been replaced with blonde hair. Sora shook his head, and his brain suddenly realized that he had not just kissed Kairi.

He had kissed Namine.

Sora backed away as he felt people looking in shock, Namine had a mixture of surprise and confusion plastered on her face, Roxas who was still standing next to her had a look of anger that Sora could actually see radiating from his body, and could even feel the heat of said anger. Sora spun around as he saw Kairi looking at her, a little hurt. Sora shook his head as he felt a hand sit on his shoulder, and he turned around to see black-haired Riku starring at him.

"Are you alright Sora?" Riku asked, though his voice sounded distorted. Sora shook his head, trying to see clearly, but his eyes merely widened as the look of worry on Riku's face changed, and a thin smile spread across the boy as his entire body began to douse itself in black, until he was just a shadow with bright golden eyes.

Sora could do nothing but watch as the eyes began to show focus, the black hair changed it's style to one just like Sora's, and the black began to disappear as Sora could not help but step back as the last bit of blackness disappeared, until he was staring right back at Vanitas, wearing exactly what Riku had been wearing.

"Yeah Sora, everything ok?" Vanitas asked, before laughing.

Sora shook his head as he began to back away, and he felt himself running away from everyone. Sora heard his name being called out as he looked to his wrist, and for the first time he could see the glowing orb that was the Materia in his body. He shook his head as he saw a dark shadow rise a few feet away, and Vanitas once again emerged, whispering loud enough for Sora to hear as he ran past, "What are you running from Sora?"

Sora continued shaking his head as Vanitas continued to appear from the darkness every time he passed the last one, continuing to laugh and ask him what he was running from. Sora knew he was going to be sick, but he could not bring himself to do anything but continue running, not knowing for how long he had been running, everything melting away into a blur until he felt himself slamming against a wall.

He looked around, the first thing he noticed was that he was far away from the beach, he was in town, but no where that he recognized. The buildings were all covered in graffiti in different colors. Sora felt his head, the cold sweat almost covering his entire forehead. He shook his head as he looked this way and that, continuing to walk until he found an alley. Sora took but a few feet, before he felt someone push him against the ground, where his entire body slammed into the pavement, causing an echo to hit the ears of both Sora and his attacker.

Sora groaned as he felt Vanitas in his head, _"Get up and fight back!" _Sora tried to mumble no as he moved his badly scraped hands, slowly managing to push himself up as he felt his back hit the wall, looking to see who his attacker was, and his took a deep breath as he adjusted his eyes.

"How dare you do that to Namine!" Sora instantly recognized the brave yet shaky voice of Roxas, who was starring at Sora with pure hatred radiating from his body. Sora tried to take in another breath, but for some reason just as quickly as his lungs took in the cold air, they expelled it, and Sora closed his eyes as he felt Vanitas pushing against his brain, for some reason not going away.

"R-roxas," Sora tried to mutter, but Roxas drowned out the boys words, "Ever since you got to school I knew you were trouble, but even I didn't believe how evil you were...until now,"

"Roxas...please..." Sora tried to get out, but his pleading was drowned out by the voice of Vanitas, _"You fool, you can take him on, destroy him,"_

"Come on Sora, lets have it out, this has been coming for a long time," Roxas called out, and Sora could see Roxas standing his ground a few feet away, his arms raised up ready to punch Sora should he come close. Sora shook his head as he leaned against the wall, muttering, "No...please..."

"You deserve every horrible thing you're going through and more!" Sora shook his head as both Roxas and Vanitas voice entered the boys brain, his pleading continuing as he felt Vanitas grow stronger and stronger within him.

_"Well, if you are not going to do anything...then I will..." _and Sora felt a pain shoot through his body, leading up to his head as he closed his eyes, his legs buckled as he dropped to his knees, and an ear shattering scream hit Roxas.

Roxas looked at the boy as he felt the screams get quieter and quieter as he suddenly stepped back, hearing the screams turn into something else. It took Roxas a moment, but suddenly he realized that the sound coming out of Sora's mouth was no longer screams...they were laughter.

Sora slowly managed to stand up, his eyes still closed and laughter still ringing throughout the area, and as Sora suddenly opened his eyes, Roxas could do nothing but step back as shock went through his entire body. Sora eyes, which had previously been blue, were now a golden color.  
"Well well well, if it isn't the scared little boy who cannot do anything but watch as the things he loves get taken away," It was definitely Sora talking, and yet there was something about him, he was no longer talking in the light manner that he had been hearing over the past few months, but rather a cold and calmed voice, a more darker voice. Roxas took a small breath of air as he said nothing, allowing Sora to continue.

"You had so much to say before Roxas, why not now? Could it be that confrontation isn't your strongest suit?" Sora laughed as he took a step towards the boy, who in turn took a step back, his fist's still raised, though now they were ready to attack, rather then defend, and Sora smirked as he held his fists to his waist.

"Well why don't i give you something to fear," Sora's laughter turned to a snarl, as he darted towards the boy with a force he had never seen before, but Roxas stood his ground, waiting to be hit by the boy, not sure what to do, and merely prepared for the worst.

But quietly, Roxas heard something in his ear, a whisper in his own voice, though not from his mouth, but his own thoughts, sounded more confident then the true owner of the voice, as it said but two words, _"Duck Roxas!"_

Roxas instantly dropped to his knees as he felt Sora swing around, just managing to get the tips of his bangs as Roxas was now starring at the boys knees. Roxas took a deep breath as he heard the voice once again, _"Now Roxas, the knees!" _and Roxas nodded his head as his shaky fist dove towards Sora's needs, managing to cause a cry front Sora as his legs buckled for the second time that day as Sora dropped to the ground, their eyes now level, and Sora eyes widened in both shock and anger, but he had no time to respond as Roxas heard the voice say, _"The temple Roxas, strike in hard!" _

Roxas nodded his head, and with all his might drove his fist into Sora's head, which although caused Roxas a fair amount of pain, was nothing compared to what Sora had gone through as his entire body was forced back by the fist, Sora's head hitting the wall of the alleyway, silencing the teen as his body slumped against the wall as he drifted off into unconsciousness.

Roxas breathing slowly began to return back to a normal pace as he looked at his bruised hands, his eyes darting from the body of his former friend to the area that he was in, seeing that there was nobody around. Roxas was in shock for but a few moments as he crawled over to Sora, placing his finger just under his eye as he opened them up, seeing that they had returned to their normal blue.

Roxas crawled to his feet as he looked at the body, not sure what to do. He contemplated calling an ambulance, but both his hatred for Sora at that moment and the bruises on his hands gave him another option. He ran, as fast as he could out of the alley, not even bothering to look back to see if anybody was looking at him. He closed his eyes, feeling the hot tears against his skin as he muttered to himself, "What have I done?" and although he wasn't expecting a response, it came in the form of a voice in his head.

_"The right thing Roxas,"_

**_x_**

_Mako Energy Monitoring Station._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The entire kitchen area was dead quiet, though that was mainly due to the fact that it was almost 1 in the morning, and most of the people who worked there would have been at some sort of New Years party, enjoying the fact that they had the next day to recover from a night of drunken activities.

Though, for one woman, this was not the case, she had been the unlucky soul who had been forced to work on New Years Eve. Though being the only worker on, this did have it's advantages, including choosing all the coffee breaks, which she was currently on at the moment. Sighing, she poured a glass of hot coffee into her cup, watching as it filled to the top, before she quickly added a few teaspoons of sugar and sipped the cup, felling the warm coffee travel past her lips, and a smile quickly spread as she looked to her watch, saying quietly as she did, "Happy New Year," before she turned around and made her way out of the room.

The woman, who looked in her early 20's with dark orange hair and dark brown eyes, was dressed in a simple red blouse and dark blue jeans with a pair of red sneakers. However, she had matched this with an official looking lab-coat that reached the bottom of her knees. Walking down the hall, she turned to the door of another room, removing a clear looking key card as she scanned it against the small black metal box, the red light turning green, and The woman smiled as she slowly opened it the door

Thankful that the lights were on, the woman was quickly able to locate her work area through the dozens of cubicles within. Smiling as she sipped her coffee once again, she lowered herself into her chair, leaning back as she looked around at her designated work area.

Although small, it came with the basics she needed to complete her work, a wide screen touch monitor made of glass, a QWERTY keyboard that was also made of glass, the keys all lit up in blue, and a sTab+, the latest in Shinra's tablet technology that merely looked like an oversized sPhone+. On her table was also pictures of family, friends and even a man whom looked like the woman's partner.

Smiling at the photo, and a bit jealous that she could not be out at the time, she returned to the computer as she began typing her password in, before scanning over the information on her screen, occasionally tapping something on the screen or taking a sip of her coffee.

As she drained the last of the delectable substance, the woman noticed something on her screen that seemed unusual. She tapped on a specific part of the screen before typing something in, occasionally changing from her keyboard to the screen, before she leaned back, examining something on the screen and saying, "That's not right,"

Again, she continued to tap something into the screen, a map of the Destiny Islands appearing, which all appeared to be fine. But as she began to zoom in, she noticed that while the rest of the area was colored blue, and a small portion on an Island close by was yellow, the area she was zooming into was red, which could only mean something bad.

Knowing that she had to report this, she created a new folder on the desktop, making a copy of the information and placing it within the file, before she flicked the newly made folder out of the screen, where it reappeared seconds later on her sTab+. Standing up and removing the tablet from its dock, she walked out of the room, and turned down the hallway.

Walking in a rather fast pace, she finally reached a door, where a plaque in the middle of the door read, _'Doctor. Aquarius Villiers' . _Tapping on the door, a light voice called out, "Come in?"

The woman slowly opened the door to a rather spacious office. Towards her right was a large table like box, in the corner a small television, and up the back was a desk which had the same touch-screen monitor that the woman had, though was rather larger. Behind the desk was a woman in her late 30's, with short deep aqua blue hair, and matching blue eyes which were behind a pair of oval shaped glasses that were currently reading something on her own sTab+. She was dressed in a light black blouse, matching skirt and the same lab coat as the woman, though hers looked like it had been slept in many times before.

"Dr. Villiers?" the woman asked softly, and the Doctor looked up from behind her sTab+ as she smiled, saying as she did, "It's New Years Eve dear, call me Aqua,"

Nodding her head, the Woman entered the room, and waited as Aqua finished reading something before placing her sTab into its dock, and removed her glasses as she said, "Is there something i can help you with?"

"Well, I need to report something," the woman walked over to box-like table as she typed something into the keyboard, lighting up the device before she looked back at her sTab+ and swiped the file across, it appearing as a 3D image, hovering atop the machine. The woman waited while Aqua slowly stood up and walked over towards her, before she began.

"About 5 minutes ago we received a reading from Traverse which I'm not sure i can explain," The woman said slowly as she quickly typed something into the sTab, watching as the file opened up, and revealed a graph, with lines and charts that seemed to make sense to Aqua, as she looked at it with an interest.

"These readings are unlike anything i've read before," the woman said as she continued typing, more graphs appearing and disappearing, "It is definitely Mako Radiation, but according to the graphs, they are-"

"Not deadly," Aqua muttered as she walked forward, zooming onto the map that had appeared in front of her, until she had zoomed into an alley, studying it closely before saying, "Look's like it's being contained to this alley,"

Nodding her head, the woman continued, "Also, on a hunch, i ran a cross between any other radiation that it could be...but it doesn't make any sense,"

"What did you find dear?" Aqua asked, and the woman waited but a moment before she typed one last thing in, and two different graphs showed up, one the radiation of the alleyway, and another completely different one.

"The energy signature matches signatures of a Mako Reactor meltdown," She said softly, and Aqua's heart skipped a beat, she had a very accurate hunch about what was going on, though it was far above the pay grade of the young woman before her, so she carefully said, "You said that the radiation isn't deadly to humans?" and the woman said no, before a smile spread across the lips of Aqua as she asked, "What was your name again?"

"Hall," chimed the girl, before she said in a more professional manner, "Stephanie Hall," and Aqua smiled as she said, "Thank you for this information Miss Hall, I shall ensure the proper people are made aware of this," and the woman nodded her head as she turned around and made her way out of the room, glad that her presence that new years night was not completely a waste of time.

Aqua waited until the woman had closed the door, before she returned all the information into the file, flicking the 3D image away as she typed something into the keyboard, shutting down the machine as she made her way back towards her desk, removing her phone as she looked at the file on her monitor, tapping at something as she typed a number into her phone, not having to wait long before a sweet voice said, "ShinraCorp Headquarters: Edge, President Shinra's office,"

"Yes, this is Doctor Aqua Villiers, Mako Energy Monitoring Station: Destiny Islands, i need to meet with President Shinra as soon as possible," Aqua asked as she typed something into her computer.

"I'm sorry, President Shinra is in a meeting at the moment, if you would like to pass on your information to the Head of Monitoring Stations: Gaia, I'm sure that President Shinra will receive your information within the next few days," The voice replied, and Aqua rolled her eyes, thinking as she did, _This is getting me nowhere, time for a new approach._

"Let me try that again, Doctor. Aquarius Villiers, Clearance Level: 0, Passcode: 7246-3355," Aqua said in a clear voice, and she waited but a moment before a voice said, "Identification Recognized, what can I do for you Dr. Villiers?"

"AERIS, I need you to get a ShinraCopter to pick me up from Dark Margin Airport at 10am to take me to ShinraCorp HQ, organize a meeting with Shinra for the minute I get there,"

"And what is the nature of this meeting?" AERIS asked, and Aqua scrolled through the information on her screen as she smirked.

"Tell him it's in regards to Project: Jenova,"

**_x_**

**I'm a terrible person and I feel terrible.**

**I am SO sorry all you wonderful people, I don't deserve the amazing fans that you are, you are just too good for me :(**

**I'd like to blame this on writers block or work or a faulty file, but the truth is this was a REALLY hard chapter to write, and although i absolutely love it, I am glad that it is completed, and I hope you all enjoy the plot developments as well as the story as a whole.**

**My reviewers are the best, so I am going to name you all like i normally do, but ill add some extra love in there: **Lion5589, Keyblades of Oblivion, Steph **(Hope you enjoyed your cameo, and hope i did you justice :P) **Random Reader 17, DestinyKeyblader28, SiChri, Bond of Frost, EthanFlux, Khheroxasoray, Ironratgage, Kairiangel035, soushin5 and R. Recollect.

**Much love to every single one of you, and i shall do my best not to leave it too much longer for the final part of On Holiday, until next time, ciao my wonderful lovelies.**

**Jared Someone.**

**PS. Aqua's identification number spells out "Rain-fell" or "Rainfell", which is the name of her original keyblade xD **


	17. On Holiday: Part IV

**_J _**_enova _

**_x_**

**_XVI_**

**_x_**

_Shinra Labs._

_Hallow Bastion._

_1995._

**_x_**

The hallway which was normally silent save for whispers and talks of work was broken as the elevator slowly opened, and a black haired ponytail man exited, frustration plastered on his face as he continued walking down the hall, on the phone to someone who he appeared not too happy with.

"I've told you, shut it ALL down, don't keep a single thing, burn all the results immediately!" the man hit the 'end call' button rather hard as he slipped the phone into his lab coat, looking around as people avoided the important looking man, who was looking from person to person until his eyes found who he was looking for.

"Dr. Villiers!" He shouted, and the person, a woman who looked in her early 20's turned around, dressed in the same lab-coat as the man, though wearing a casual pair of jeans and t-shirt, turned around, typing something into a PDA while also on the phone, which was being held by her shoulder.

"No, I don't know where the information is, you'll have to find someone else," The woman managed to withdraw the phone and placed it and the PDA in her pocket as she grabbed a clipboard from one of the other less important workers, going over the information as she walked over to the man.

"Professor Hojo, what in the name of Yevon is going on here?" Dr. Villiers asked, and the man called Hojo continued walking, the woman trying to keep up as she tried to bypass the other workers as easily as Hojo was.

"We're closing down everything, the WRO are getting too close," Hojo muttered, and the woman's eyes widened as she said, "What! but we're so close, testing is becoming successful!"

"I realize this Aqua, but we cannot risk ShinraCorp going down for this," Hojo grabbed a Clipboard from a passing worker as he yelled, "Burn all this information immediately!" as they turned a corner, Aqua still trying to understand what was going on.

"What is going to happen to this place?" She asked, and Hojo sighed as he said, "Shinra wants us to turn it into some Insane Asylum to help people, gain public support or some shit like that," He sighed as he handed the file to a passing worker as they turned into a smaller room, which appeared to be the man's office.

"Sir, we were so close, a few more tests, we could perfect Jenova, and if we do-" Aqua began, but Hojo shook his head as he said, "We cannot risk it, we have a week to get rid of all of this information before the WRO begins an internal investigation,"

"Then let's store this, we can continue when they leave us," Aqua pointed out, but again as Hojo removed a bottle of MegaPotion from his desk drawer and a glass, "Shinra doesn't want to take any sort of risks, if we get rid of all traces of Project: Jenova, then there is nothing that they will find,"

Aqua sighed as she tried one last time, "Four years Sir, all that information, the experiments...the Deaths...you want to throw that all away for-" but Hojo finally had had enough as he slammed his fist down onto the desk.

"Aqua! Do you really think I want to give up everything we've worked on? If it we're up to me we'd relocate and continue research, but Shinra has demanded all information be destroyed...just be happy as Deputy Head you're not being fired,"

"What do you mean?" Aqua asked, and Hojo sighed as he drained a glass of MegaPotion as he said, "Most of these people are being let go, with enough money to keep them quiet, very few, including you and I are being relocated,"

"Relocated?" Aqua asked as she managed to find her seat, not quite believing what was happening, and Hojo sighed again as he said, "Look, I know it's a lot to handle, but right now we need all hands on deck, I need to meet with several others, so I don't have time...I need you to look after the subjects,"

"Where are they going?" Aqua asked, and Hojo smirked as he responded, "Your decision, but wherever you decide, you cannot tell anyone...least of all me,"

Aqua looked confused for a moment, before she finally understood as she said, "Plausible Deniability," and Hojo nodded as he placed the glass of MegaPotion and glass back inside, saying as he did, "To think I'm breaking years of not drinking on the job at the time i need my wits about me," and he stood up as he said, "Be quick Dr. Villiers, I need you to look over several things before the night's end," and with that, the man exited his office as he made his way out of sight.

Aqua sighed as she slowly made her way towards the the door, making her way down the long hallway as she reached a door. Taking out her keycard, she swiped it, allowing her entrance into the room.

The place was already under deconstruction, machines being packed up, data being placed into boxes to be destroyed later. Aqua passed man and woman until he reached another room, where she once again swiped her card and entered the room, where she closed the door and sighed.

The room was rather small, with a few computers here and there, but in the back was two cribs, both connected to the computers through wires and other bits of machinery, but Aqua ignored this as she walked over to the first crib, smiling as she looked inside, where a baby was lying down, crying.

Aqua picked up the small child and softly began to rock it, saying as she did, "Don't cry, it'll be ok," and other more comforting phases as the baby began to quieten down, making smaller noises of delight. Aqua smirked as she placed the baby back into the crib, where her eyes glanced down to the small sign on it, that read _Subject: Vanitas._

Aqua sighed as she withdrew a clipboard from the wall, looking over it as she said, "Looks like your brainwaves are still abnormal..." She sighed as she said, "I think i'll need to keep you here with me...that's if they keep me here," Aqua continued looking over the notes, saying as she did, "And you'll need a new name as well,"

Thinking for a moment as she ran a hand through her hair, a smile spread across her lips as she said, "How does 'Sora' sound?" and the baby gave a small cry in happiness, as Aqua could not help but laugh as she said, "I thought you might like it," and she sighed as she placed the baby back into it's crib.

Sighing, she looked from one crib to the the other, both having babies who were looking up at the woman before them. Aqua sighed once again as she said, "We had big plans for you two, you were going to save the world from evil...well..." Aqua sighed as she walked over to the computer and began typing something in, saying as she did, "Look's like we'll have to put that on hold," before she looked back over before walking back to the two, getting a good look a the second baby who was now lying fast asleep, her hand drifting to the plaque that was on the front of the crib, that held only two words.

_Subject: Ventus._

**_x_**

_Gainsborough Household._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The grandfather clock in the small house had just chimed two, and the entire place silent. Darkness was in every corner, and the only sound was the noise of the grandfather clock slowly telling time to the darkness in the room.

Suddenly, a noise of the front door broke the silence. A key being forced into a keyhole, before the door swung open, and a teenager burst in, heavy breathing as if he had been running for miles, his feet sore as he struggled to take the first few steps now that he was back home. The bottom of his jeans were muddy, and his hands shook as he ran one through hair, feeling the cold sweat on his forehead.

Somehow the teen knew that nobody was home save for himself, as he held a hand against the wall, feeling like he was going to be sick. When he knew that he could make to his bedroom, he forced his foot to take the first step, then another, and before he knew it he was rounding a corner and into his bedroom.

The room was rather small, a window to the left, closet to the right and a small tv in front of the boys bed. But tonight he was not interested in watching the first few shows of the new year, rather he made his way towards the bed and placed his hands onto his head, a few tears letting their way through the gaps of his hands as he said, "What the hell have I done?"

"...the right thing Roxas,"

Roxas looked up as he felt someone sit next to him, he looked across to see a mirror image of himself sitting next to him. Everything from the color of his hair right down to the model shoes he was wearing was exactly the same, though while Roxas had a look of fear on his face, this person had a smile, confidence radiating throughout his entire body.

Roxas shook his head as he got up, saying as he did, "How can you say that Ventus? Look was we did to him,"

"Look what he did to Namine, ever since you met him you haven't been able to trust him, and this is the proof...he is evil Roxas," Ventus looked up at Roxas, and the boy could not help but shake his head as he said, "Really? ...cause he didn't seem evil to me.."

"What are you talking about? you saw him, he tried to attack you," Ventus said, but Roxas merely shook his head as he said, "No, there was something about him...something different about Sora, it looked like he was struggling with something...and did you see his eyes changed, it was as if he was...possessed," Roxas sighed as he sat back down again, and Ventus put his hand on the boy, saying as he did, "When you first shook his hand, I told you there was something about him, something i didn't like, and throughout the rest of the year he has done nothing but prove this point time and time again,"

"I just don't think we have the full story Ven," Roxas sighed as he felt the effects of the long night overcome him, almost drifting of to sleep before the sound of his phone vibrating in his pocket echoed throughout the entire room.

Roxas looked around, but Ventus had disappeared, Roxas sighed as he concluded he was now the only one in the room...if having an Imaginary Friend could be classified as being in company with someone.

Reaching into his pocket, Roxas pressed the 'answer' button without knowing who it was, and held the phone up to his ear as he said, "Hello?"

"Roxas?" came the normally calm voice of his mother, but now was solemn and almost quiet. Rubbing his eyes, Roxas answered, "Hey mum, what is it?"

"I got called into the hospital. Your friend, Sora was admitted an hour ago with bruising and head injuries, He's just come out of surgery, I'm sorry honey,"

Roxas wasn't sure how to answer at first, but he shook his head as he said, "Is he going to be alright," Trying hard to sound like the news was knew to him.

"He'll be fine, if you want to catch a Taxi here you can greet him when he wakes up," Aerith responded, and for a moment Roxas was about to say no, for fear that he might be found out by Sora and confronted by the others. But as he thought about it, if he didn't show up, it would just show that he was more guilty, and with the head injury, there was a chance that he wouldn't remember who had attacked him.

"I'll be there in half an hour," Roxas nodded his head, and already dressed, he hung up the phone and made another call to the local Taxi service as he walked out of his room and rounded the corner, before walked out the front of the house, that sick feeling that he had felt before now gone as he wrapped his coat around him, waiting for the taxi to pick him up.

**_x_**

_Destiny General Hospital._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

New years was always a particularly difficult time for those in the medical business, what with the amount of drinking that went on during the numerous parties that were happening throughout the Destiny Islands, as well as drunken injuries to impress friends and potential partners.

But as Roxas walked through the automatic doors, he wasn't looking for the drunk and the disorderly, but rather some place where he could find his friends, or his mother who would lead him to the room. Roxas didn't have to look around too long before he caught a group of familiar faces, all with either tear stains on the cheeks or shaking as if they had just seen something frightening.

"Hey guys," Roxas barely managed to whisper as he reached the group of teenagers. Namine was the first one to come up to the boy as she wrapped her hands around his neck, sobbing lightly into his shoulder as Roxas quietly stroked his hands through her blonde hair. Riku was the next to come up as he patted the boy on his shoulder, his face drained of blood, and Roxas could only imagine the size of the pit in his stomach.

As he walked over, he found three more people sitting down, Kairi who was crying into the shoulder of Xion, who was, like Roxas, running her hand through the girl's hair. Kairi looked up and Roxas could not help but take a step back as he looked into the wet eyes of the girl. Roxas looked away to his best friend, but all he could see was his messy fire-red hair, his hands buried into his face, not looking at anyone or anything.

"What happened?" Roxas feigned ignorance, looking from one person to the other, before Riku was the one to answer.

"We...we don't know, we got worried when Sora ran off, we were looking around the neighborhood for hours, before Kairi realized that Sora had been running towards Dark Margin Harbor, and thought he might have..." Riku couldn't finish the sentence as he looked to the others, Xion continuing as she was the only one who could form words at that moment.

"We soon found an ambulance in Traverse, and we followed it. By the time we managed to find him, he was being loaded into an Ambulance, they told us something about someone homeless finding him there lying down,"

"Kairi pretended to be his sister so she could get a ride with him, the rest of us got a lift with Riku," Namine muttered softly, still crying on the boy's shoulder, before Namine stopped for a moment and looked up.

"You were following him Roxas, did you manage to find him?" She asked, and Roxas stopped for a moment, quickly nodding his head as he said, "No, i only looked for a few moments, but i'd had that much to drink i barely managed to find my way home,"

"Who knew it took something like this to sober one up quickly," Xion tried to lighten the mood, but nobody was in a chuckling mood. Namine looked up at Roxas for a moment, as if she knew something was amiss. But the sound of Axel in the corner caused everyone to turn to the man.  
"It's all my stupid Yevon-damned fault!" Axel punched the seat next to him, and as the other looked at the boy, they noticed the tear stains next to him. Riku immediately walked over to the man, and pat him on the back, saying as he did, "Axe, none of this is your fault,"

"What are you talking about Riku? I'm the one who pushed the Materia on him, all of this is my fault," hot tears began to fall from the boy, and Riku was about to say something when Namine left Roxas' chest and made his way towards the man, saying as he did, "Axel, the person who did this is at fault, not you,"

Axel took a deep breath as he wiped the tears away from his face, sighing as he looked up, his eyes widening as everyone else turned around, instantly recognizing the person walking towards the group of teenagers.

"Hey guys," Aerith smiled softly as the others nodded their head, too sad to say anything. Aerith took a moment before she said, "He's out of surgery now, but he's asleep, if you would like to spend some time with him, his dad's there now, If you would like to follow me?" She asked, and everyone nodded their head as they got up and followed the Doctor, a lot of people nodding their head at Aerith, clearly she was an important person around the area. She smiled at all the people and nodded her head, being able to respond to each person by name as they turned a corner, walking up a pair of stairs before they made it to a hallway with only a few doors.  
"We managed to pull a Private room for Sora," Aerith smiled, and the others nodded their head as they made it to the very end of the hallway, Aerith was the first as she opened the door, peering her head through as she turned around and said, "Alright guys, one at a time," and Aerith slowly pushed the door open as they made their way inside.

Roxas was the last person to enter, and even as he took but a few steps into the room, he could feel the pit in his stomach growing larger and larger. As he stood up the back, a hole amongst the heads of his friends allowed him a clear view of Sora lying in his bed. Roxas shook his head as moments of earlier that morning flashed through his head. Sora lying against the wall, blood slowly leaking from his head, Roxas felt like he was going to be sick again as he looked to the side of his bed.

Roxas instantly recognized the man sitting next to him was Sora's father, Cloud. His eyes were completely watered as didn't even take note of the kids that were standing there at first. But as one of them made a small noise, Cloud slowly looked from his injured son to the kids standing there, wiping his eyes as he said, "Oh, hey kids," Before he turned back to his son. Roxas could not help but look away as his mother walked back into the room, looking over something on her sTab+ as Kairi broke away from the others and walked to his other side as she took one of the spare seats and sat next to the boy, nobody making any objection as Kairi's hand slowly reached out, slowly slipping her fingers into his hand.

It didn't take long before the touch caused a stir in Sora. The others took a step back as Cloud coughed in surprise, Kairi instantly retracting her hand as Sora's eyes began to flutter open, until he was looking around. The scars on his face and his head bandaged up ignored as they all looked at the clear blue eyes as looked at each of the people in the room, before his eyes rested on his father, saying as he did, "I'm grounded, aren't I?"

Cloud could not help but laugh as he reached over and hugged his son, tears now landing on his brown head of hair as he said, "You are never going to leave my sight ever again," and Sora smirked as he tried to push his arms over his father, but Kairi shook her head as she pushed the arm closest to her down, saying as she did, "Don't overwork yourself Sora,"  
"Kairi, i'm trying to hug my dad, not lift up a chocobo," and the others laughed as Cloud let go, smiling as he did, before he said, "What happened son? The Doc's said you were found in an alley in Traverse, do you remember what happened to you,"

Sora looked from his dad to the others standing there, his eyes resting on Roxas. As the two connected eyes, Roxas thought about for a split second running as fast as he could out of the room, knowing that he would be caught out within a few seconds, but as he took a deep breath, his eyes ceased glancing towards the door, and trying to accept his fate, Sora shook his head.

"I remember walking through the streets of Traverse, and the next thing i know i was in an ambulance...for a second there i thought i was dead, could have sworn their was an Angel sitting next to me,"  
"That was probably your 'sister'" Riku laughed as he placed a hand on Kairi, and Kairi grew red as Sora looked between the two, saying as he did, "Sister? what's he talking about Kairi?"

"Well..." She began, but was cut off as Aerith said, "Before we get into the conditions of Kairi's transport here, I'd like to talk to Mr. Strife here about his son's condition," and the others took this as a subtle hint to move out of the room. As the others made their way out, Kairi made to get up, but Sora suddenly grabbed her hand, saying as he did, "Can you stay...please?"

Kairi looked from Sora to Aerith and Cloud, both who looked like they had no problem with Kairi being there, she nodded her head before taking her seat.

Aerith waited until the door was closed, before she turned to Cloud and began, "At first your son's injuries looked severe, the Police said that it looked like the result of gang violence, but by the results, they look like a mugging gone wrong,"  
"Except nothing was stolen," Cloud said, and Aerith nodded her head as she said, "Correct, I can't tell you the reason behind it, all i can tell you is Sora's condition,"

"Which is?" Sora asked, and Aerith smiled as she said, "Well going into surgery we notice that whoever did this had managed break your knee, but it was your head that was dangerous. Seem's like it had been punched, but the majority of the damage came from your head bouncing against the wall, by all accounts you should be hanging by a thread,"

"But i feel fine now Doc," Sora responded, and Aerith nodded her head, saying as she did, "That's where things start to get...weird,"  
"What do you mean weird," Kairi asked, and Aerith pulled out her sTab as she began typing something into it before showing it to the three.

"This was Sora's head x-ray's upon entering the hospital, as you can say they are extremely serious," and the others nodded as Aerith swiped something on the sTab as she said, "This is him after surgery,"

"That looks like it's almost healed," Cloud said almost instantly, and Aerith nodded her head as she said, "Exactly, for some reason Sora, you're entire body is working overtime to heal the wounds...It's as if your cell's are regenerating to heal you twice as fast," and Sora's eyes widened as he took a breath.

"By all accounts you should be asleep hanging between life and death, not talking, laughing and making jokes," She said and Cloud took his son by the hand and said, "What does that mean Aerith?"

"Well, procedure says that you should be here for a couple of weeks for observation...but in my professional opinion, with this kind of healing, you should be fine to go home in a few days," and Cloud smiled as he nodded his head, saying as he did, "Thank you Doctor Gainsborough,"

"Call me Aerith, Mr. Strife," Aerith smiled, and Cloud nodded his head, "Call me Cloud, Aerith," and both smiled, sharing that same smile that they had when they met for the first time, Sora and Kairi looking from one to the other before they coughed, breaking the connection as Aerith jumped up, going red as she said, "I should get those forms for Sora's release ready," and quickly began typing something as she made her way out of the room, the three looking at each other as Cloud said, "I'll let your friends in shall I?" and Sora smiled as he nodded his head, Cloud raising from his seat and made his way towards the door.

"So, what was that sister comment that Riku made before," and once again Kairi went red as she said, "Another time Sora, when you're not in a hospital bed," and Sora could not help but smirk as he said, "Deal," and Kairi rolled her eyes as the five others made their way into the room.

"Hope we weren't interrupting anything?" Riku smirked, and Sora smiled as he retorted, "Actually you were, Kairi was trying a different form of care, if you could get out for the next 20 minutes that would be lovely,"

Kairi grew bright red as she slapped her friend and made her way up, Sora crying out in a small amount of pain as he said, "Oi! don't beat up the cripple,"  
"If the cripple has a smart mouth, he deserves the get beaten up," Kairi stuck out her tongue as Sora and Riku both laughed, before he turned to the others, finding that Axel had taken the place that Sora's father had been standing not so long ago, his normal green eyes filled with happiness were now replaced with sadness, saying as he did, "Sora...I'm-" But he never got to finish as Sora smiled, managing to place a hand on Axel as he said, "Axe...don't worry about it," and Axel felt the tears falling on Sora's blanket. Axel wiped his tears away as he got up and moved away, Riku moved over as he said, "Geez you know how to make people happy don't you Sora," and both laughed as Namine moved up to him, and this time it was Sora's turn to look sad as he said, "Nam, about what happened before...I'm sorry,"

But Namine shook her head, saying as she did, "You were under the influence of Materia, It's alright...a little scary at first but fine," but As Sora was about to say something, he gave a rather loud yawn, the others taking note of this as they all started to get up, saying as they did, "I think it's about time you got some rest Sora," and Sora smirked as he nodded to each of them, saying as he did, "Thanks guys...thanks for being here," and the others all smiled, each of them saying their own goodbyes as they made their way out of the room.

As Namine was about to walk out of the room, she turned around to see Roxas starring at the window, "Roxas, are you coming?"

"You go, I've still got something to do," Namine looked between the two, thinking she knew what they were going to discuss, she opened her mouth to object, but Sora smiled as he looked at Namine, saying as he did, "Everything will be fine Nam, I'll see you later," and Namine nodded her head, looking between the two boys before she slowly made her way out of the door, slowly closing it behind her.

Neither of the two said anything for a minute, Sora waiting for Roxas to begin the conversation, and Roxas looking out the window. From the height they were up, Roxas could see a perfect view of Twilight, as well as Traverse. As he waited a moment, looking at one of the buildings, he said softly, "So...why didn't you turn me in?"

Sora smirked as he continued looking at the boy, saying as he did, "I was the one who attacked...I think, you were just defending yourself,"

"You think?" Roxas asked as he turned around, and Sora merely nodded his head as he said, "I remember us talking, and then i felt him getting the better of me...and then waking up in the ambulance,"

"Him?" Roxas asked as his eyes widened just a little bit, and Sora smirked as he ignored the single work question, saying instead, "How did you know i was lying?" and Roxas smirked as he turned around and grabbed a chair, sitting down as he said, "You gave me too longer a look before you responded...and that gave it away for him,"

"Him?" Sora asked the same question Roxas had asked moments before, and both looked at each other, Sora was the one who answered, "Looks like i'm not the only one hiding something,"

"Would you like to go first or shall I?" Roxas asked, and Sora looked at him for a moment, saying as he did, "I think you should have that honor, seeing as i'm the one in a hospital bed at the moment,"  
"Sorry about that," Roxas smiled, and Sora smirked as he readjusted himself, saying as he did, "Again, all good,"

Roxas sighed as he leaned back into his chair, beginning his story, "My first memory was growing up in an Orphanage, that was when i was about three or four. I wasn't there for long, though. Aerith adopted me not too long...the trick with Orphanages is to get adopted young, that way the parents can mold you into the son or daughter they want, and not have to work with an already made model," and Sora smirked as he leaned back into his bed.

"But Aerith was different, every day she would always tell me that she didn't care who i became, she would always love me, I recon she would have adopted everyone there, but apparently something about me was interesting, which was the reason as to why she had chosen me above anyone else,"

Sora could not help but smirk at this bit, the two were completely different, while Roxas had grown up loved, Sora had waited many years before he had found someone who loved him.

"But, for as long as i could remember, i always had this...Imaginary Friend," Roxas muttered, and Sora could not help look up in interest as he said, "Imaginary Friend?"

"Well...yes and no, I don't know the psychological reasoning behind Imaginary Friends, but mine looked exactly like me...but it was more then that, he would always start in my head, but then i would actually see him, could feel him when he patted me on the back, hear him when he was sitting next to me,"

"Exactly like..." Sora repeated, and Roxas nodded his head as he said, "There was more, he also had his own name...Ventus,"

"Ventus?" Sora asked, and instantly felt something inside of his roar up, as if he hated the name more then anything else on the planet. Sora shook his head as continued listening to Roxas.

"From then on, every time i was asked a question about something, Ventus would remind me about reading it, every time someone tried to pick a fight with me, he would tell me what to do, every time someone was introduced to me, Ventus would tell me whether that person had something to hide, whether he was bad or good, and all these signs about whether he was lying or telling the truth,"

"In other words, Photographic Memory, heightened reflexes and profiling abilities," Sora concluded, and Roxas nodded his head in agreement.

"As the years went on, i realized that i didn't have an imaginary friend, i had a...condition...i looked it up, it's like Split Personality Disorder, but...it's more then that, he actually affects my head, making me remember stuff and telling me when to duck, it's like a 6th sense really," and Sora smirked as he nodded his head.

"I thought about telling mum or my friends, but he wasn't hurting anyone, and he was only helping me, so i kept my mouth shut about it," Sora sighed as he leaned back, Roxas looking at him, and said, "What's so funny?"

"Where you had an Imaginary friend Roxas, I had a Demon inside of me," Sora closed his eyes as he sighed deeply, when he opened them again he found Roxas staring at him, his eyes widened as he asked, "What do you mean Demon?"

Sora breathed in as he began, "I was like you Roxas, I had this...voice inside my head...but it never wanted to help me, all it ever wanted to do was cause me harm, every time I would get nervous, this voice would convince me of my worst fears, and that I should fight back..."

Roxas looked at Sora, not believing the fear that was sitting in his eyes, Sora looked away for a moment before he said, "This voice...Vanitas it called himself...every time i would get angry, I could feel myself getting stronger...getting faster, being able to resist a lot more pain then i usually could,"

"Physical Improvement," Roxas muttered, and Sora nodded his head, before his eyes looked back at Roxas, saying as he did, "...apposed to your Mental Improvement,"

"You don't think..." Roxas asked, but Sora merely smiled as he said, "Roxas, I don't know what to think anymore, but It is curious as to how both of us have Split Personality Disorder, I mean it's not a very common disorder, and both of us have these...Improvements,"

"Yeah, Improvements...Improvements that most would think of me as a freak," Roxas sighed as he placed his hands into his pockets, and Sora looked at Roxas, smirking as he did, "Is that why you didn't want to join the struggle team?"

Roxas merely looked away as he mumbled something in agreement, and Sora tried to sit up, but failing as he leaned down, saying as he did, "Rox...you know that no one is going to care...I mean, look at me, I probably could destroy any of them...but only if you look at it the wrong way, for me, I look at it as Therapy, being able to control the power through controlled attacks,"

Roxas sighed as he leaned against the wall, saying as he did, "I suppose...for you,"

"Listen Roxas, you're never going to be able to know what sort of Therapy Struggle could do for you if you don't try,"

"I don't need therapy," Roxas smirked as Sora raised his eyebrow, "You're afraid to join the Struggle team for fear of being called a freak...I think joining that team and confronting your fears is the best thing you can do for it,"

Roxas sighed as he zipped up his coat, saying as he did, "Well, i guess there is no harm in thinking about it, is there?" and Sora nodded his head as he sighed, getting into a comfortable position.

"Roxas took the hint as he said, "Well, I guess I'll let you sleep...see you round Sora...and again, Sora bout the whole-" But Sora smiled as he cut Roxas off, saying as he did, "It's cool Roxas...we're cool," and Roxas nodded his head as he made his way out of the room.

As Sora watched the man walk out of the room, he was glad that the things between the two had settled, but even though they had ended their conversation more friendlier then when they had began, Sora still could not help but feel something was amiss among the two conditions. Both of them had voices in their head, one causing harm due to chaotic thoughts, the other merely a helper to protect the body. Both clearly in the same condition and yet polar opposite.

But even when the sleep began to take over him, he realized that even after everything that they had been through, Sora knew that the worst was still yet to come, that there was still an element that they had yet to discover, an element that was yet to show it's face, which Sora believed would explain everything, and all he had was one word to go on. A single word that he knew would explain everything.

Jenova.

**_x_**

_ShinraCorp HQ_

_Edge_

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The quiet sky air was instantly interrupted by the sound of a helicopter making it's way over the city that was Edge. The helicopter zoomed through the area as it finally reached its destination, the largest tower in Edge, Shinra Corporation HQ.

As the helicopter finally touched down onto the building, the door opened as the rotor's came to a standstill, with a woman jumping down onto the top level platform. Her normally short blue hair whistling around in the wind, her lab coat doing the same. As she reached the elevator, she took out a clear keycard and held it against the thin black box, waiting only a few moments before the elevator doors opened, and the woman stepped inside.

One floor later, The doors opened into a small room, with a secretary behind a desk, and a door leading into what she could only assume was an office. The woman waited for a moment, before the secretary looked up and smiled, saying as she did, "Can I help you?"

Sighing, the woman said, "I have an appointment with Mr. Shinra, Dr. Aqua Villiers," and she waited as the woman typed something on the computer, before looking back at Aqua and said, "President Shinra is waiting for you," and Aqua gave her a smile as she crossed to the door, opening it and allowing herself entrance.

It had been a long time since she had set foot in the office, and a lot had changed. The small TV that had stood there was now replaced with a large plasma TV, as well as the comfortable table area in the corner. In its place was the same table like machine that Aqua had in her office, though this one was almost twice it's size. The Desk up the back now held a number of Shinra Technology, including a large touch screen computer, two sTab+ and Shinra's own sPhone+, all in docks. The liquor cabinet was still in the same place it had been before, and standing next to it was Rufus Shinra, a glass in his hand looking out the window.

Draining the drink, Shinra turned around as he said, "Doctor. Aquarius Villiers...long time,"

"Aqua is fine sir, and it's good to see you again,"

"How's your dad?" Shinra asked as he made his way towards the cabinet to take another drink of something strong, and Aqua smirked as she made her way towards the Computer Desk, saying as she did, "Colonel Snow Villiers? About as good as a retired Guardian Corp member can ever be," and both chuckled as Shinra poured a glass of something strong into his cup and moved towards the Computer desk, setting it down on the large machine as he said, "So what do i owe the pleasure of your presence?"

Aqua smiled as she allowed the last of friendly conversation to leave the room before she retrieved a Memory card from her pocket and entered it into the device, bringing up a Holographic keyboard on the table before she typed something in, before several graphs began to show up, "This," She said softly before pressing one final key, and all the graphs appeared in 3-D in the air.

Shinra looked over all of them, studying them despite his state of intoxication, while Aqua continued, "Last night in the early hours of the morning, the Energy Monitoring Station detected high levels of Mako Radiation within one of the alleyway's in Traverse, doing a crossmatch of the energy signature, the computer matched it to a scenario in which a Mako Reactor went into a meltdown,"

"Hang on, a Mako Reactor Meltdown? but the only Make Reactor's we have on the Destiny Islands is the one powering Radiant Garden, no where near where this was found,"

"Exactly...and theres more," Aqua sighed, and Shinra laughed, "Do i really want to know?"

"I'm not exactly sure if you do or not," and Shinra could not help but raise his eyebrow as he watched Aqua typing something else in, "On a hunch i looked at some of the pattern's on the energy reading from this morning and...well..."

"What is it?" Shinra asked, hardly containing both his interest and his slight excitement as Aqua tapped on something, highlighting it as she said, "It matches the energy reading on a previous Project conducted by ShinraCorp,"

"...Project: Jenova," Shinra muttered, and Aqua nodded her head, "I have no doubt in my mind that whatever this energy is, it has something to do with the two Subject's used for Jenova,"

"Vanitas and Ventus," Shinra muttered once again as he looked out of the window, not making a single noise as he looked down at the bustling traffic in the morning, the only sound coming from the two was breathing, and even that was almost silent.

After several minutes of thinking, Aqua waiting for what Shinra would do, he turned and looked at the woman, a smile on his face as he said, "Dr. Villiers, when you return I want you to pack a bag, I'm re-assigning you to Hallow Bastion,"

"Sir?" Aqua asked, her eyes widened as Shinra turned back to look at the citizens of Edge below, with a smirk on his face as he said just barely audible to Aqua, "The WRO hasn't been investigating into Shinra for almost 5 years now, and our sources state that they are too busy to be looking in our direction. As of this moment, I am Re-initiating Project: Jenova...and I am making you Head of the Project,"

**_x_**

**Dear god if there are any of you out there I am SO sorry, you can all send hate mail to my work for putting me on to much, and my brain for being so...urgh!**

**So this is the long awaited part 4 of the On Holiday section, where so much has happened, so many questions answered, and so many more asked. All of which will be answered, as we are only halfway through this story, and I have so many more exciting plot developments to show you, but you won't have to wait too long...at least i hope not.**

**A quick shout out to the extremely lovely people known as my fans, you are all just the greatest people ever, give yourself some lovin from me **lion5589, DestinyKeyblader28, R. Recollect, Hall Stephanie, EthanFlux, SiChri, ironratgage, Keyblades of Oblivion, khheroxasoray, Random Reader 17, Kairiangel035, Nathan A. Murry, Bond of Frost, Lenchkumaximus, Anti-FormRiku and Ken7700. **You guys, along with the subscribers are some of the greatest people alive, never forget that.**

**Also, this story officially made it over 100,000 words, which i'm pretty stoaked about, even if nobody else is xD**

**take care guys, hopefully the new chapter will be out shortly, but don't hold me to any promises D:**

**Jared Someone.**


	18. Sora's Sora

**_J _**_enova _

**_x_**

**_XVII_**

**_x_**

_Twilight Heights High School_

_Destiny Islands_

_Present Day._

**_x_**

School had only been back for a week, but by the looks of all the students there, it looked like they had been there for months straight. Every single face was already mentally counting down to the next time they could sleep in on a Wednesday, but that was soon crushed and replaced with worries like had managed to bring in the right assignment? and could they remember the correct formula's for their upcoming surprise quiz they already knew the teacher would bring up?

But even as the car's drove by, not even the fear of angry teachers could stay in their mind when they noticed the familiar motorbike roaring throughout the road, until it came to a slow stop outside the building, where the owner, a still bruised but otherwise perfectly fine Sora removed his helmet, allowing his bangs to fall slowly into place.

The teenager was glad that he was getting out of the house, and being able to stretch his legs. For weeks he had been confined either to the hospital bed or his own, his father staying true to his comment that he was not allowed to leave his sight. Sora had been so confined to his bed, away from his friends that he not even realized that they were well into the beginning of the school term.

After a yelling match from Sora as to why he hadn't been able to return back to school, and being able to demonstrate basic moving techniques without pain, Sora had changed and exited the house quicker then anything, glad once again that he could feel the wind against his body as he zipped between cars a little more reckless then he normally would have.

Sighing, he perched his helmet under his arm as he ensured that his bag was safely hanging from his shoulder before he made his way towards the building, trying very had to ignore the others that were standing there, looking and pointing. Sora managed to quickly locate his locker and dump his helmet away, but as he locked it up, he got the feeling that he was being starred at. Not trying to make contact, he began walking away, trying to keep his eyes down.

But as he continued walking, catching glimpses of their conversation, he could not help but realize that they were not talking about him in a mocking term, rather one that was either curiosity or one that was impressed with what they had heard previously. Sora turned a corner until he bumped into a woman he had never met before.

"So you're Sora," She smiled, and Sora's eyebrow raised as he said, "Do I know you?"

"You're the new kid on the Struggle Team, heard you got a bit of power behind you...and you can take a punch or two," She seemed impressed with his stamina, which Sora only assumed she had heard about from one gossiping student or another.

"Sorry, I have to go," He said as he made his way past her, holding his bag as he diverted this way and that from one student or the other, each all whispering or trying to get something out of Sora, like the truth on how he had managed to get the wounds on his head.

Soon the teenager realized he had no idea where he was, or what class he was suppose to go to, only that he was constantly finding himself running into one student or another. As he tried to walk into a different building, he found that there too he was being badgered by people as to how he had gotten the scars on the side of his head.

As Sora rounded a corner, he managed to find a slightly open door. Making sure nobody could see where he was going, he dived into the room and slammed the door, ducking so only his eye's could see the window, to make sure nobody was going to try to get in. Sora only waited a few moments before a voice caused him to freeze.

"Sora?" The voice said, and although normally it would have sounded familiar, Sora still could not help but pray the voice was a friend of his. As the teen slowly tuned around, still ducking behind the door, he breathed out a sigh in relief as he realized that he had walked into the painting room usually used by Namine.

"Hey Nam," Sora breathed, and Namine could not help but look from the ducked teenager to the door and let out a small laugh as she said, "So, what brings you here,"

"Escaping from all the students who all want to know the same thing, what happened New Years Morning," Sora sighed as he slumped down against one of the walls, crossing his arms before the full realization as to who he was talking to sunk in, and Sora fidgeted as he watched Namine painting something, Sora trying to figure out what to say next, inadvertently clearing his throat and causing Namine to look up, saying as she did, "Yeah Sora?"

Cursing his cough, Sora coughed again as he said, "Listen...Namine, about New Years Eve, where I...well-"

"Kissed me?" Namine asked, and Sora slowly nodded as he tried to form more words to go with what he had just said, but Namine smiled as she said, "There is no need to apologize Sora, I already forgave you,"  
"Yeah, I know you did, but...well, what i did was wrong, and i would totally understand if you wanted to judge me or never talk to me again,"

"You know it's kinda cute when you get nervous Sora," Namine giggled as Sora stopped, and sweat dropped as he said, "You've been hanging out with Xion way too much," and Namine laughed as she nodded her head, "She does leave a kind of badass mark doesn't she?"

"Namine, I'm trying to-" Sora cried out slightly, but Namine just shook her head as she said, "Sora, I may not drink excessively, do Materia or try to make out with others, but that doesn't mean I judge those that do, I know that you care about me and wouldn't want to try to hurt me, and you didn't, so all is forgiven,"

Sora looked at her for a moment before he coughed and smiled, saying as he did, "Has anyone ever told you how awesome you are?"

"Well, I do get told from time to time," Namine grinned, and both exchanged hugs as Sora smiled, looking at his watch as he said, "Damn, class started five minutes ago...now if only I could remember what subject I had,"

"You have History now, remember, you used to always complain about not being able to see me paint on both of my free periods," Namine smirked, and Sora's eyes widened as he slapped himself, saying as he did, "Biggest lifesaver in the world Nam, thanks!" and with that the boy made his way towards the door, but froze as he saw the handle turn and the door slowly open.

Bracing himself for anyone who would try to get some sort of answer out of him, he was glad when it was only a familiar blonde haired bangs that was greeting him, "Roxas! Thank Yevon it's you, tell me, is there anyone out there?"

"No Sora, everyone's gone to class," Roxas rose his eyebrow in confusion, and Sora breathed out in relief as he placed his hand on Roxas' shoulder, saying as he did, "Thank you Roxas, that's the best news i've heard today," and ducked his head out the door to make sure the coast was well and truly clear before he ducked out of the door.

Roxas turned to Namine, who had a smile on her face as Roxas asked, "Mind explaining to me what that was all about, because I am lost,"  
"Sora was running from badgering students and tried to apologize again about New Years," Namine smiled as she continued working on her artwork, and Roxas smirked as he began walking towards her, saying as he did, "He should be apologizing hundreds of times you know,"

Namine chuckled as she said, "Don't be Jealous Roxas, you know how ugly it makes you look,"

"Oh really?" Roxas could not help but turn his smirk into a grin as he wrapped his arms around Namine's waist, softly placing his head on her shoulder as he said, "I didn't hear you complaining when my Jealousy forced me to tell you how i felt about you,"

"There are exceptions...and you were looking ugly then as well," Namine laughed as she moved her head back, and slowly pressed her lips onto Roxas', closing her eyes as she enjoyed the close proximity between the two.

Roxas was the one to break the connection as he said, "Well just as long as he is very Sorry for what he has done," and Namine could not help but shake her head as she said, "Didn't you tell me you and Sora were all good now?"

"Doesn't mean I cannot get jealous of him," Roxas grinned, and Namine shook her head as she turned back to the painting, putting the last few strokes on it before she finished it off, saying, "What do you think?"

Roxas moved closed to get a better look at the painting, before his eyes widened as he said, "Is that what I think it is?" and Namine nodded as she said, "It's the first day you told me how you felt," and looked back as she kissed Roxas once again, before laying her head on his shoulder, saying as she did, "Happy Anniversary Roxas,"

**_x_**

_Art Classroom._

_Twilight Heights High School_

_Six Months Ago..._

**_x_**

As Namine watched the door close, she sighed as she returned back to the painting that she had been working on. Her entire mood had changed from what she had been feeling previously, and she groaned as she dipped the paintbrush in pitch black and slashed at her painting, the once beautiful picture of Dawn now mixed with hard black paint. Sighing, the woman took the picture down and placed it back down as she leaned against the wall.

Namine's mind was currently at war with itself, she was a little hurt that Sora had left so suddenly, and yet she realized that the real reason why she was upset was due to the fact that someone she thought would want to be with her didn't. She had thought that maybe she would be able to be with someone like her, an outcast, someone the others didn't get, instead of someone who she knew she had no chance.

The truth was that there was someone else that she wanted to be with, someone she had known for a while, in her opinion, was the polar opposite of what she was. Outgoing, funny, and someone who she knew deep down was a lovely person. She had gone for Sora because she reminded him so much of the boy, but she knew that maybe she had a shot with Sora, unlike the person that she really liked.

Sighing, Namine grabbed a piece of paper and placed it up onto the canvas, ready to start painting once again, she heard a knock on the door. At first she thought that it was Sora, either changing his mind or saying that he had forgotten something, but the more she thought about it, she realized that knocking on Doors wasn't really the boys style, he was the type of person to pick the locks to gain entry.

"It's open," She cried out a little sadly, and she continued painting, not wanting whoever was opening the door to see her face at the moment. But as the sound of the door closing and the voice softly said, "Hey Namine," She could not help but turn around and stare into the eyes of the teen before her.

Dressed in his usual clothing, his scruffy blonde hair everywhere, including the front of his blue eyes stood Roxas, his hands shoved in his pockets looking slightly down as he looked towards her, no form of smile nor any other emotion on his lips, just a straight line.

"Hey Rox..." Namine could feel herself going red and instead concentrated on the new painting, not exactly sure what she was going to do, except that it was going to be something blue due to the amount of blue she was putting on her page. Even though he was quiet, Namine could feel the teenager walking closer and closer towards her, but then realized that he wasn't concentrating on the painting that she had just started on, rather the one that she had just destroyed.

"What happened to this one Nam?" Roxas asked, and Namine looked for a moment before returning to her new painting, saying as she did, "I didn't like the way that one came out,"

Roxas continued looking at the painting for a moment, the longer he was there the more Namine found it hard to keep her hand from shaking from nerves. To have Roxas in the same room always made her nervous, but alone was making her twice as shaky as before. Trying not to make any noise of frustration as the paintbrush continuously went outside the invisible lines Namine had created in her mind, she heard Roxas for a second time, "This one looked really good Namine, you're really talented, but i guess i've been saying that for a while now," and the boy let out a small nervous chuckle, and Namine could not help but crack a small smile. Namine didn't know why but Roxas had always had that power to be able to calm her down whenever she got nervous, like when she was in a crowd or when she was in an uncomfortable situation. Although, normally it was Roxas that made her uncomfortable, so she could never fully explain the extent of the boy's magical powers.

Namine had been so into her own thoughts that she had not realized that the boy was now standing right next to her. Her entire body froze just a little bit as he took a closer look at the painting.

"So what's this one going to be?" He asked, and Namine said softly, "Not sure yet," and Roxas nodded his head in understanding as he continued looking at the painting, though now it was from a little bit of a distance.

Namine did not have to wait long before Roxas broke the silence once again, "So, noticed that Sora was walking out of here," Namine instantly froze up as she softly nodded her head, trying to force her hand to continue painting and not look suspicious.

"What did he want?" he asked, and Namine took a breath, ensuring that she had the correct words in her mind before she responded, "He just wanted to talk about something that happened on the weekend,"

"You did something with him on the weekend?" Roxas asked, and Namine nodded her head in response, "We went and saw a movie,"

No noise was made after that comment, but as the girl looked towards Roxas, she took note of the fact that his head was now down, as if he was disappointed in something. After a few moments, he backed away, saying as he did, "Well, I'd best get going...hope the painting turns out well,"

Namine slowly watched as Roxas made his way towards the door, and she wasn't so sure why she did what she did next. Maybe fate had been whispering in her ear, maybe she was just curious, maybe it was a coincidence, but nevertheless she called out to the boy just as his hand reached out towards the doorknob.

"Roxas, wait," Roxas instantly froze as his fingers were just lightly touching the wooden doorknob, not making a single motion that he was going to turn around, and yet not moving to ignore what she had just said and walk out of the door.

Taking a deep breath, the girl asked, "Why did you want to know what Sora was doing?" and Namine noticed that the aurora of Roxas had changed, and that she was witnessing something she had never seen in the boy ever since she had met him.

Roxas was nervous.

"Well, umm..." He began, Namine knowing the all to well signs of someone trying to place words together to form a sentence that would answer her question. Namine folded her arms, ready to wait for Roxas to come up with a reason.

"I saw him walking out of the room, and i wanted to know why," He said, and Namine could not help but raise his eyebrow as she said, "But what is the reason why Roxas? Why did you want to know?" and Roxas again struggled to come up with a reason. Clearly he had one, an extremely good one, but it was clear to even Namine that this reason was embarrassing, and therefore he was trying to come up with any other reason possible.

"Well, I could have...maybe thought that he might have...tried something," Roxas looked down as he shuffled his feet, to which Namine looked at him and said, "...something like what?"

Roxas sighed as he closed his eyes, and shouted out slightly frustrated, "I thought he was asking you out!" before his eyes widened as he realized what he had just said.

Namine could not do nothing but stare at him, confusion and surprise plastered all over her face, no other emotion letting itself emote from Namine's face.

"You wanted to..." Namine tried to continue talking, but she felt her throat drying up quicker then she could get the words out.

"I was jealous alright, I didn't want Sora to ask you out," Roxas sighed as he crossed his arms and leaned against a wall as he tried not to look at Namine.

"...Why?" Namine asked, and Roxas sighed as he looked up to her, taking a few deep breaths before he said, "Because I couldn't handle you being with anyone but me,"

Namine's eyes widened as she looked towards Roxas, her mouth sitting lightly open, not believing what she had just heard. All this time, she had thought that she was never good enough for Roxas, that she was out of the teenager's league, and here he was, openly admitting that he liked her.

Her face turned to a short smiled as she walked towards Roxas, saying as she did, "Well...I did kind of like him..." and Roxas looked up, straight into her eyes as confusion was plastered over the boys face.

"He reminded me of someone...someone who I had liked for a long time, but never thought I had a chance with," Namine got even closer to Roxas, her nerves slowly disappearing as she got even closer.

"Really? ...who?" Roxas asked, and Namine stopped for a second before she said, "You're an idiot Roxas," and she closed the gap between their lips, allowing small amounts of passion to escape between the kiss before she broke it, smiling as she began to slowly turn red as she moved a bit of her hair away from eye as she giggled, Roxas still with a blank expression before he grinned, "Oh, me,"

Namine could not help but let out a laugh as she slapped the boy on the top of his head, and Roxas grinned as he hugged the girl, happiness over his face, happiness that he had not truly felt for a while now, before he said, "So, what now?"

Namine thought about it for a few moments, before she let a smile escape her lips as she held the teenager by his sides, saying as she did, "Well, you know how selfish I am... I want to keep this just between us for now,"

"I can work with just between us," Roxas smirked as he lightly kissed the girl, lying his head on her shoulder as he said, "Just between us sounds nice," and the two sighed as they stayed in the position, for how long neither knew, as time seemed to disappear along with everything else, until all that remained was the two in a world of their own, the times where both had thought about being with the other coming together in those few moments.

In short, a Picture perfect moment.

**_x_**

_School Cafeteria._

_Twilight Heights High School._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The Cafeteria was already filled with hungry students all trying to find either cash to pay for food or a place to sit. So when Sora managed to quietly bust through the door, people were too distracted to notice that he had actually entered the area.

Having been there for so long, Sora managed to quickly find the group sitting in their usual spot, and managed to get a seat as he held up a book in front of his face, trying not to be seen by others. Riku looked from Roxas to Axel, before turning back to Sora, saying as he did, "You know Sora, if you're trying to remain inconspicuous, you're doing it wrong,"  
"Shut up Riku," Sora muttered as he took one of his chips and scoffed it down, causing Riku to grab his plate in disgust, "What are you doing!"

"Well it's not as if i can stand in line with the amount of people wondering how i survived my injuries or how brave i was to face down a mugger...honestly i preferred it when they all thought i was a psychopath,"

"You mean you're not a psychopath?" Riku asked, and received a punch in the arm and several of his chips stolen, as Riku groaned as he moved his plate out of the reach of Sora.

As Sora groaned as he lay back in his seat, casually looking this way and that to see if he was being watched, but as the bell rang and soon emptied the cafeteria, Sora straightened up as he leaned back into his chair, wondering what he would do for his final two periods of the day.

As the teen began to stand, he felt a hand on his shoulder, looking up to see Riku giving a sly smirk to the boy, which Sora did not trust in the slightest. Sora looked this way and that, seeing that no one else knew why Riku was looking the way he was, So Sora turned back to his friend and said, "Alright, what do you want?"

"You have a free now, don't you," Riku was referring to the free period that he had, and Sora slowly nodded his head, to which the boy grinned as he said, "Fantastic, I have a free as well,"  
Roxas looked at Riku for a moment before he said "No you don't Riku, we have-" but never got to finish his sentence, as he felt a sharp nudge in his stomach as he hit the floor, everyone else looking at him for a moment, before returning back to Riku, who had a suspicious grin on his face as he said, "Roxas also has the period off, and we can all do some training with the Struggle Team,"

"I never said i'd join the-" Roxas called out, but was again was silenced by Riku who seemed to have kicked him in the stomach hard enough to make the boy be quiet, "Riku, stop kicking Roxas!" Kairi called out, and Sora nodded, fearing that Riku would accidentally kill the poor boy in his attempts to keep him quiet.

"So, are you in Sora?" Riku asked, and Sora shrugged, while Roxas flew up, outraged, "Oh, he get's a damn choice and I get kicked in the stomach for not even knowing about it!?" But when the boy realized that nobody was paying attention, he sighed as he sat back into his seat, his arms crossed and a not too happy look on his face.

"Sure, why not," Sora smirked, and Riku cried out, "Great! Let's go!" and with that, he grabbed both the boys and dragged them out of the Cafeteria, with Sora managing a "Bye!" Before they were all dragged out of the room.

As the others gave a small surprised wave, Axel stretched as he said, "Well Kairi, it's been fun, but i'm going to escape the school before my teacher realizes i'm still here," and with a wink he made his way out of the doors.

Kairi stretched as she looked around, noticing the lack of people in the cafeteria, and sighed as she found her back, swinging it around, about to make her way to class, when she couldn't help but notice a sneaky looking Xion darting this way and that as she began making her way across the compound.

Curious, Kairi made her way out of the Cafeteria and towards the girl. When she was a few feet away from her, Kairi said, "...Xion?" causing the girl to jump from where she was and swing around, ready with an excuse as to why she was out of class, but before she could get two words out, Xion realized who was standing in front of her and let out a sigh of relief.

"Yevon above Kairi, are you trying to kill me?" She asked, to which Kairi smirked as she ignored the question, "What the hell are you sneaking about for?" and the girl looked this way and that before she whispered, "I'm going to watch the boys do struggle training,"

Kairi raised her eye for a bit, not sure what she was suppose to be catching on to with all the winking and giggling Xion was doing. When she realized that Kairi had no idea what she was talking about, she groaned as she said, "Don't you pay attention to what they do when the cheerleaders are there?"

Kairi thought about it for a second, before a smile spread over her lips, "You mean that deal they have with the cheerleaders, where they have to train with their shirts off," and Xion giggled like a giddy schoolgirl as she nodded her head, saying as she did, "Why should those snobby cheerleaders have all the half naked man action all to themselves,"

Kairi smirked for a moment, saying as she did, "Well, i have always had a soft spot for Strugglemen...think I can tag along?" and Xion grinned as she said, "It's less creepy if theres someone there to giggle with," and the two made their way to the field area, talking and giggling, before Kairi stopped for a moment, spotting someone, before she cupped her hands around her mouth and said, "NAMINE!"

"Are you trying to give away our position or something Kairi?!" Xion jumped again, but regardless her calling had gained the attention of the blonde haired artist, who was walking towards them.

"Arn't you meant to be in class Kairi?" Namine asked, and Kairi shook her head as she said, "We're gonna spy on half naked men, you in?" and instantly the girl went bright red as she shook her head, but Xion didn't let her get away that easily, saying as she did, "Of course she does," and she grabbed the blonde's hand as they three began making their way to the Stadium.

**_x_**

_Sports Stadium._

_Twilight Heights High School._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

"So what made you change your mind?" Sora was busy slipping his sports shirt on, he looked towards Roxas, who was busy placing on his runners, saying as he did, "Well, I thought about what you said, and i realized you were right, I had never really given it a chance, so I told Riku i would consider joining the team...half an hour later he was dragging me here along with you,"

"Regretting it now?" Sora smirked as he picked up his Struggle Bat and placed it on his shoulder, waiting for Roxas to finish tying up his shoe laces, before the boy looked up and said, "Well, so far i've had my stomach kicked and elbow'ed for Struggle, so...no, not in the slightest," He ended the sentence sarcastically as he got up, picking up the struggle bat he had had thrown at him by Riku.

Said boy poked his head behind the corner of the change rooms entrance, saying as he did, "You ladies still not changed?"

"Ladies? What are we in, the Guardian Corps?" Sora muttered, as Riku walked towards them, saying as he did, "Listen Maggot, we're a few days away from the first struggle match of the season, and I will not let you off easily, now move it! Ten-hut! Left! Right! Left! Right!"

"You were right Sora, we are in the Guardian Corps," Roxas muttered as the two made their way out of the room, followed by Riku, who would occasionally poke the two if they began to lab behind.

Once they turned the final corner and had reached the Arena, they noticed two things. One, they were apparently sharing half the Arena with what Sora could only assume were the Cheerleaders of Twilight Heights High, all of which were dressed in Short skirts and tank tops, each a mixture of Green and Yellow, the school colors, which were suppose to resemble Poupu Fruit.

The Second was far more disturbing.

"Riku...why are those two guys half naked?" Roxas swallowed nervously, looking at the 2 others standing there, whom Sora remembered was Tidus and Wakka from the unfortunate encounter in which Sora had finally joined the team, both of which had placed their shirts on the sidelines, and where doing stretches but could have been mistaken for poses.

When Sora realized that Riku had not answered Roxas' question, the two looked at each other with fear plastered on their faces before they slowly turned around, before the shirt that Riku had previously been wearing was now hanging from Roxas' head, to bare his quite muscular chest, his hands on his hips as if he was posing as some new Superhero.

"Come on Sora, get naked!" Riku grinned as he made his way towards the two others, who were cheering, high-fiving and laughing, to which Sora and Roxas starred wide eyed as Roxas took the shirt off and threw it as far as he could.

"Did you know Riku was gay?" Sora muttered, and Roxas responded, "I'd always had my suspicions, but i never thought they were true," and the two looked at each other, not sure what to do.

"What the heck are you two waiting for?" Riku called out, and Sora slowly began walking towards the boy, a nervous smile covering his face as he said, "Riku...if this is some hazing ritual, and I'm going to end up naked in the middle of the compound...i will kill you,"

Riku looked at Sora for a moment, as if he was the crazy one, before he looked from Sora to Roxas to the other boys, before he 'ahh'ed, saying as he did, "Oh, no nothing like that,"  
"Well what's it like Riku? Cause right now i've officially reached new level's of 'WTF'," Roxas smiled, but deep down he was confused as anything.

"See, we have this thing with the Cheerleaders here, if we train half naked, they cheer nice and loud for us during the games,"

"Wait, our team is being blackmailed by our OWN cheerleaders?" Sora asked in disbelief, and Riku shrugged, "It's not really blackmail, beside's its good publicity for us," He grinned, and Roxas shook his head as he said, "Poor fool has been brainwashed,"

"Well, it's not all the team, just the head cheerleader...that one there," Riku pointed to a point behind them, and the two turned around, Roxas trying to find the head cheerleader, but Sora spotting her instantly, and recognizing the brunette hair, his eyes widened.

"That's the chick from before!" Sora almost cried out, but managed to turn it into a whisper before he said it too loud.

"From before? what are you talking about Sora?" Riku asked, and Sora whispered, "She was the first to ask me about what happened New Years," Sora muttered, and Riku looked up as he smirked, saying as he did, "Well, you better start looking good, cause here she comes right now,"

Sora didn't even get a chance to turn around before he heard, "Well hello Riku," His eyes widening and a weird smile spreading over his face as he slowly turned around, coming face to face with the blue and green eyed girl, with her short brunette hair and a smile on her face.

"Hey Yuna, guys this is Yuna Summoner, and these are the new Struggle guys, Sora Strife and Roxas Gainsborough," Riku introduced the two, and the boys smiled as they nodded their heads.

"They seem to be _In _uniform Riku, do they not know about our deal?" She smirked, and Riku smiled as he said, "Don't worry, they'll be changing soon," and Yuna gave the two a good look before she moved back towards her other cheerleaders.

Breathing out in relief, Riku turned to the two and said, "Alright, come on, take them shirts off,"

Roxas and Sora looked at Riku for a moment, and Roxas shook his head as he said, "She's got you wiped harder then anything and you're not even dating her," and Riku death stared the boy, clearly trying to think of a retort, but after he couldn't think of anything, he returned to the others.

Sora sighed as he said, "Come on Roxas, let's get this over with," and Sora removed his shirt, and Roxas took one look before sweat dropping, saying as he did, "Easy for the perfect bodied man to say,"

"Stop perving and get it over with," Sora smirked before he walked over to the other guys, looking back and giving a whistle, saying as he did, "Looking good Roxas!"

Roxas, who was scratching his arm, trying to hide his chest, merely death glared both Sora and Riku, saying as he did, "I hate the both of you...I just want you to know that," to which Sora chuckled before looking from Roxas to the cheerleaders, saying as he did, "Well, looks like you got a couple of their attention,"

"Who cares about attention, i'm bloody freezing here!" Roxas yelled, going red more and more by the second as he made his way to the others, glancing at the devil cheerleaders who all seemed distracted by the two new bodies that had made their way into the stadium, before he nudged Sora, saying as he did, "Well, Yuna seems to be looking towards you a little more," and Sora smirked as he said, "Come on, let's get this training session over,"

**_x_**

_15 minutes earlier..._

**_x_**

"Come on, it's right this way," Xion whispered, checking around the corner to make sure no teachers were looking around, before she made her way across to the entrance of the seating area, while Kairi and Namine just rolled their eyes as they calmly made their way towards the entrance of the upper area of the stadium.

It didn't take long for the girls to notice the guys when they had reached the entrance, and while Kairi and Xion could not help but giggle and point at all the boys that were there, Namine could not help but get distracted when she noticed Roxas and Sora leaving the room.

Soon Kairi noticed where Namine was starring, and looked over at the two. Her eyes widened when She saw Sora remove his shirt, and soon went just as red as Namine was just from looking at these topless men. Xion looked from one to the other, before she grabbed Kairi and dragged her away.  
"Hey! What are you doing, I was starring at those guys!" Kairi whined, and Xion shook her head as she said, "No, you were starring at ONE boy in particular, weren't you," to which Kairi froze for a moment before she looked away and mumbled something that sounded like, "Maybe,"

"Come on Kairi, If you keep denying the fact that you feel something towards Sora, you're going to give yourself a stomach ache," and Kairi shook her head, ready to deny everything, but the look Xion was giving her caused her to sigh, before she looked back, watching Namine stare at the now half naked Roxas, saying as she did, "You're not giving Namine any strife over her starring at Roxas,"

"Namine is young at heart...and it's her first crush, But you've dated the Captain of the Struggle Team, why are you so nervous around Sora," Xion folded her arms and looked towards Riku, who seemed to be having a little too much fun working out, a small smile escaping the girls lips.

"I just don't know how I feel...I mean i dated Riku for a while, it wasn't some 4 month long thing a lot of teens are doing these days, we dated for a very long time, and even in the breakup...there are some things you'll never stop loving..."

"If you have all these feelings for Riku, why are you so unsure?" Xion asked, and Kairi looked towards the girl, sighing as she did, "Because Sora's mysterious, He's like Riku but he seems to have so much going on, and yet he still knows how to care for others, Sora's..."

"Sora?" Xion asked, and Kairi chuckled softly as she nodded her head, "Yeah...Sora's Sora,"

The two watched the training for a few moments, before Kairi looked to Xion, saying as she did, "So how was it...Kissing Sora?"

"You're asking that now? That happened months ago," Xion reminded the teen, and yet Kairi smirked as she said, "Better late then never?" and Xion smirked as she nodded her head.

"It was nice, he's a pretty good kisser...but..." Xion stopped as she remembered the night that she had made out with Sora, and something that had bothered her that night was starting to resurface.

"But what?" Kairi asked, and Xion sighed as she tried to form the sentence in a way that Kairi would understand.

"There was something about him that was strange...It was like there was two side's to Sora, one was a bit scared about getting randomly kissed, and yet...It was like the other side was all for it, eager for it to continue further,"

Kairi looked at Xion for a moment, remembering Sora's condition that he had told herself and Riku so long ago, but Multiple Personalities were one thing, what Xion was describing was as if Sora was fighting against something in himself, as if he had a Darker side that was trying to get through.

As the cheering from the boys broke her out of her trance, she noticed that Xion was spending more time eye'ing Riku then any of the others there, and Kairi smirked as she said, "You trying to hide something Xion, like who you want to get with?" and Xion looked at her for a moment for she smirked, saying as she did, "Well I didn't want to ruin our good friendship by going after your ex...though it has been tempting," to which Kairi chuckled sadly, saying as she did, "He's single...not much I can do about it, at least we're still friends,"

Xion smiled as she hugged her friend, moving back as she said, "All honestly Kai...you seem a lot better with Sora then Riku, feelings off the table," and Kairi smirked at the girl as she looked towards Sora, saying as she did, "Yeah,"

"...Maybe you should talk to him, organize a date to get all these feelings off the table," and Kairi looked at her for a moment, her idea sounded so crazy...though not as crazy as everything else she had gone through lately.

Kairi nodded her head, Xion was right, the only way to figure out everything that she had been feeling would be to sit down with Sora and talk it all through. Gathering the courage, she nodded her head as she made to get up, but as she looked towards the teenager, she stopped in her tracks as her eyes slowly dropped down.

Xion looked from the girl who literally seconds ago was so confident to what she was starring at, and gasped as she noticed one of the girls talking to Sora, whom she instantly recognized as the head cheerleader Twilight Heights High, Yuna Summoner.

"Kai..." Xion said softly, and Kairi broke out of her trance as she said, "I should be getting home," and Kairi sighed as she rose, feeling hurt as she grabbed her bag and looked away, Walking away from both Xion and Namine, who both gathered together as they watched their friend making her way through the exit, and sadly out of sight.

**_x_**

**Ahh hello my wonderful readers, how did you like this chapter? I think after all the seriousness we have had, we needed a silly chapter here, but also one that furthered the plot that is Jenova?**

**What are your feels? Are you happy that Sora and Roxas have maintained a friendship? How about aww'ing that Roxas and Namine are in a secret relationship? Or are you angry that Yuna ruined a perfect SoKai moment? You should tell me all your feelings and more in a review.**

**A Wonderful thankyou to those who have actually reviewed, you are my fav's, each and every one of you, **Stephanie, EthanFlux, Khheroxasoray, Ken7700, lion5589, Keyblades of Oblivion, DestinyKeyblader28, Kairiangel035, Random Reader 17 and Bond of Frost. **Keep being the best readers ever, and i'll keep trying to be a great writer for you.**

**Take care guys, stay safe, and keep enjoying Jenova.**

**Jared Someone.**


	19. A Struggle of the Mind and Body

**_J _**_enova _

**_x_**

**_XVIII_**

**_x_**

_Dark Margin Harbor._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The waves crashed to and fro against the beaches of Dark Margin. As the first bits of sunlight hit the scene, the normally darkened beach now shone in the Majesty that was well known around Twilight. Across the beach, a few runners could be seen with music players strapped to their shoulders, blasting music as they forgot the world around them, concentrating on the lyrics and the pace to make sure that they weren't slowing down. But as the runners past, they could not help but slow down when they saw a young man lying on the beach.

Although from a distance he looked past out, as they drew closer they would see that he had his legs straight and ankles crossed, his arms behind his head and his eyes starring up at the now blue sky. Making sure he was alright from a distance, the runners would leave the brunette haired young man to his thoughts.

But there was too much on Sora's mind to pay any attention to the fitness residents of Twilight. The whole week had been spent training for their very first struggle battle of the year against a team whose name he had only heard once, and then frequently being insulted by his other team mates. Sora had joined in with the bad mouthing and the jokes, but for most of it he had been doing one thing; Training.

Not just physically training, the coach and others had taken note that he was growing just as good as Roxas with his physical strength, but he had found that the more he was training, the more he found himself losing control of Vanitas, as if he was standing behind him once more, urging him to cause serious harm to his own teammates.

So, he had taken on extra meditation hours. Spending his evenings and his mornings controlling his heart beat for the day, to ensure that he would not get angry and allow himself to let Vanitas take control of him once again. He would awake a few hours early, make his way down to the beach and sit there, staring into space, counting his breathing, remaining completely neutral. Even if he was going to be late for his first class, he would not leave there until he was confident that he could control his emotions until the end of day. But with the constant struggle training, sometimes he found himself barely escaping school before Vanitas was standing over him, attacking him from inside his brain.

Sora slowly closed his eyes as he allowed a breath to escape his lips, blinking a few times before he reached out and began taking his pulse, "Steady," He muttered to himself, closing his eyes and almost forcing his heartbeat to slow down until it was at a pace that he accepted.

Doing one final mental check, he slowly rose to his feet and grabbed his bag, slotting it over his head until it was lightly sitting on his shoulder. He undid the clasp as he slipped his hand into the bag, pulling out his sPlayer+, sticking the headphones into his ears before he began scrolling through the music. Finding the song that he wanted, he allowed a small smile to spread across his face before he hit play.

_Be careful making wishes in the dark dark_

_Can't be sure when they've hit their mark, mark_

Sora turned and began walking towards his bike, running a hand through his hair as he reached the bike. Blinking as he stared at his pride and joy before he swung his leg over, reaching into his pocket for the second time before he removed his gloves, slipping them on squeezing his hand, feeling the leather against his skin, doing one final check that his bag wouldn't come off before he started the engine.

_I'm in the de-details with the devil_

_So now the world can never get me on my level_

As Sora moved the bike onto the road, roaring the engine as he drove the bike onto the main road. Feeling the wind against his hair, he hadn't even noticed that he had left his helmet at home until he had reached the beach, and the feeling had felt so refreshing that he was risking having his motorcycle license taken away from him in order to feel that breeze through his hair.

_My songs know what you did in the dark..._

Sora's eyes looked towards the school as he raced past it, for once not pulling into the familiar parking lot that was usually filled with cars and students alike. But this was due to two main reasons. The first was that it was a saturday, and most students were at home still sleeping. The second reason was that the first struggle match would not be be taken place within the Stadium at Twilight Heights High.

As he turned a corner, he found the place that he was looking for. Despite it being so early in the morning, there were a few cars all heading to the same place. Most were teachers who would not give a moment to miss the opportunity that was happening today, while others were students and other viewers who wanted to get up early to view the struggle match that would happen today. Some were cheering for Sora as they passed him, while others jeered him and tried to throw their rubbish at him. Though thanks to his previous meditation and his somewhat quick reflexes he managed to knock back what they were throwing at him.

_A constellation of tears on your lashes_

_Burn everything you love, then burn the ashes._

Sora looked this way and that before he finally managed to find the parking area. Slowing down, he carefully glided the vehicle into the area, where a few other cars began to follow him into the area. Finding a parking spot in the back. He turned the engine off as he leaned back into his seat, closing his eyes as he listened to the last of the lyrics, ignoring the outside world as he did.

_My songs know what you did in the dark..._

Sighing and smiling, he removed his headphones and stuffed the sPlayer+ into his bag, slowly getting off the bike as he looked down and ensured the clasp was tight, not noticing who was standing in front of him until he heard his name being called out and looked up with a smile on his face.

Riku, Roxas and Kairi were all standing at the front of the building with smiles on their faces, watching the young man stare at them for a few moments before a smirk once again stained his face as he made his way towards his friends, glancing around the extremely large building, taking note of its unique design as Riku chuckled at his friend, "Geez Sora, it's like you've never seen Departure Academy before,"

Riku was right of course, Sora had never seen the other high school that was on Twilight, the Illustrious Departure Academy, a private school for those who could afford the best in teaching, with state-of-the-art technology, teachers with expert knowledge in their field, a highly advanced stadium that could easily match Mirage Arena, and even it's own icy machine in the cafeteria, truly this was a grand school.

Roxas smirked as he pushed Sora inside, saying as he did, "Come on then, you've only seen the outside," and with that Sora stepped through the doors along with the others.

From the moment that he had entered the building, Sora's mouth hung open in surprise. For some reason, the entire place looked a lot more shiny than he had been expecting. Camera's seemed to be place at every corner of the school, and the lockers were all state-of-the-art. There was no key lock or even a turn dial, it seemed each one had a small thumb scanner and a digital readout that swapped between what number locker it was and a name which Sora could only assume was the owner of said locker. The doors were all locked from what appeared to be a hand scanner system, which seemed to be in place to stop people getting into classrooms without teacher supervision. Sora watched as some of the students of the school were walking through, despite it being a saturday, Sora could tell they were students by the uniform's they were wearing, which was strict blue suit with golden ties. Both students were holding sTab+, and talking and laughing while they flicked through what could only be assumed was their schoolwork.

Sora turned back to Riku, about to ask how a school, even a private one, could afford this advanced technology, but his question was answered almost instantly, not by Riku, but by Kairi, "Departure Academy is one of a dozen schools across Gaia in association with ShinraEducation,"

"ShinraEducation?" Sora asked, and Roxas nodded his head, "Shinra has it's own Education Program, where they donate tens of millions in funding, technology and security into schools in exchange for offering the best of the schools first choice in careers within ShinraCorp, Departure Academy was one of the first offered to be apart of the Program, hence why it's one of the popular schools around,"

Sora looked around, once again Shinra was being forced into the daily life of Twilight, everywhere the boy seemed to go he was seeing Shinra an awful lot, be it in their technology, in their transport, or even in the schools. Why would one company have so much influence within the day to day life of Gaian's. Sora wasn't sure, but one thing was certain, for a Mega Corporation to be involved so much, there was never anything good about it.

Before Sora knew it, he was being led outside, where the yard area was almost twice as large as the one back at Twilight Heights High, and filled with luscious green grass. After managing to drag Roxas away from the Cafeteria (and Icy machine) they began walking down the path towards the stadium, which again Sora could not help but gasp at.

It was huge. There was no other explanation to give to this building. It was almost as big as Mirage Arena, and yet for a school it looked as if it could fit thousands of people. It almost seemed unnecessary for a school to have that much room, before once again Kairi read the question on the boy's mind.

"Destiny Islanders take their school sports very seriously, and Departure Academy is known for being a central place for many of the schools across Gaia to come and play in tournaments ," Kairi smirked as Sora 'ahh'ed', walking towards the entrance of the arena, the four walked inside, walking through the entrance for but a few moments before they reached the main arena.

The entire arena looked as if it had only recently been made, everything looked brand new, from the comfortable black seats to even the stat screen that was embedded within the arms of the chair just like in the Mirage Arena. Sora looked at it, and took note that the gambling option was vacant, but it did include stat's on all the players there. He looked up at the giant score board, which was turned off at the moment, and was something he was keen on seeing in action. Sora looked back at the seats, and was about to press on the option on the touchscreen which showed their team, but was stopped when he heard Kairi call out.

"Namine! Axel! Xion!" Sora looked up to see that the remaining three of their friends were standing quite close, closer then Sora had been expecting judging from Kairi's shouts. He watched at the blonde, red-head and black-haired girl all waved as they made their way towards the group. Sora smirked at his friends as he turned to Riku, who was looking at his phone, before looking up to Sora and Roxas, saying as he did, "Come on guys, we're going to be late," and after a hasty goodbye to Kairi, grabbed the two and began to drag them down the stairs, across the field, and into the visiting entrance at the right hand side of the arena.

"Riku, you know we can walk perfectly well on our own," Roxas managed to get out as they turned a corner, but before the man had time to let go, they were being thrown into the locker room, where two others whom Sora noticed was their other two team mates, who were already dressed in their sports uniforms, consisting of green and gold singlets and long pants, sneakers and orb belts.

"Seems like he's ready to destroy the other team," Tidus smirked as Wakka nodded, Sora looking towards the two as he said, "How long have you two been here?" and Tidus looked at Sora for but a moment before he looked to his watch, saying as he stared at the time, "Bout an hour, hour and a half,"

"As have I," A voice echoed from behind the three, and they turned around to see Pinocchio standing behind him, now dressed in a stereotypical coach's outfit, his hands on his hips and a smirk on his face as he said, "Good to see you turned up, we've got one hour before the match begins, and I want to get some exercises in,"

Riku and Roxas nodded as they made their way towards the lockers, looking for their name. Sora moved forward to his locker, opening up as he placed his bag in it. He was about to open his bag when he stopped, and looked around before saying, "Coach, where's my struggle bat?"

Pinocchio looked up from what he was doing, before looking around, saying as he did, "Oh, they must have gotten one short, there should be an equipment area around here if you just walk outside, but be quick, I need you ready in 10 minutes,"

Nodding his head, Sora gave a silent 'See you in a few' look to Riku and Roxas before he turned around and made his way down the hall.

As Sora looked this way and that, not sure where exactly he was, he heard an echo that he almost instantly recognized was Kairi, Namine and Xion. Hoping that they would be able to tell him where he was and where to look, he began to follow the sound of their voices. But as he grew closer, and realized what they were talking about, he slowed to a stop.

"...saying is that you seem to be eager to find their locker room," Sora recognized the voice of Xion almost instantly as he pressed his back against the wall, making sure that he could not be seen. He kept his heartbeat steady, but pressed his ear as far as he dared to make sure that he could hear them.

"I just want to wish them good luck," Now it was Kairi talking, whom Sora noticed was a tiny bit nervous when she talked. Sora narrowed his eyes, trying to make sure that he caught all of the conversation.

"No, me and Xion want to give the guys a good luck, you seem a bit too excited for that," Sora almost didn't recognize the teasing sound in Namine's voice, but he did take note of the way Kairi suddenly became even more nervous, "I don't know what you're talking about," The girl muttered, and even Sora found a hard time believing her.

"Come on Kairi, we all know you want to visit Sora, why won't you just admit it," Xion smirked, and Sora could not help but widen his eyes as he heard the words escape Xion's lips. Was what she was saying actually possible? That the red-head girl actually wanted to see him.

"That's not..." Kairi muttered so softly that Sora almost missed it, but he didn't miss Namine's scoff, "You can lie to yourself Kairi, but you cannot lie to us," Sora continued to listen, placing his ear further towards the group in case Kairi muttered something again. But the next thing he heard he wished he had been as far away as he possibly could.

"I'm not lying! I don't like Sora Strife!" and with that, Sora heard the loud footsteps of Kairi, followed by the soft ones of her friends leaving.

Everything was a daze for Sora, his previous control gone as he felt his heartbeat going faster and faster. He heard something inaudible from Namine and Xion, probably trying to get their best friend back on good terms, but Sora was too busy thinking to clearly hear what they were saying. The only thing he could hear clearly was the words that had passed from Kairi's lips moments before.

_I'm not lying...lying...lying..._

_I don't like...Sora...Strife..._

_Don't...like...don't...like..._

"...Sora,"

Sora's eyes widened in a panic of sweat as he looked before him, Vanitas standing there, dressed exactly as he was right down to the biker jacket and gloves, his golden eyes starring directly at Sora with a smirk.

"Well...seem's like she's made her mind up hasn't she," He gave the boy a smirk, and Sora shook his head as he muttered, "Shut up Vanitas,"

"Kairi doesn't like you Sora...just like everyone else here,"

"That's not..." Sora took a deep breath as he shook his head, "Go away!"

"Think about it Sora, everyone else has the same feelings Kairi has, she's the only one whose voicing them at the moment,"

"That doesn't make sense," He shook his head, reaching out to grasp the wall to hold himself steady, and Vanitas stood over the boy with a smirk on his face, "And yet, you know it's true..."

Sora remained silent as he felt his heartbeat begin to beat faster. He knew that if he didn't calm down, the same thing that happened with Roxas would happen again. Closing his eyes, he did his best to block out the voice of Vanitas, remembering his techniques as he began taking deep breaths, counting to 10.

"You can block me out all you want Sora," Vanitas smirked, "But you cannot ignore what you truly feel...why be nice to people who only want to hurt you, at least I want you to feel power...from the fears of others,"

Sora could feel the sweat forming on his brow, but rather then running a hand over it, he ignored it, and continued concentrating on his counting and his breath, as he finally found his heartbeat slowing down to a normal pace, he lost the feeling that Vanitas was there, and instead found a new voice, this one Riku.

"...I said are you alright?"

Opening his eyes sharply in panic, he looked up to Riku, who had his hand on the boys shoulder and was looking directly at him, worry plastered all over his face. Looking around, Sora gave a nod as he said, "Pressure...i'll be fine," He did his best to give a reassuring smile to Riku, and seeing that he had convinced the boy, even for briefly, Riku held out a struggle bat, saying as he did, "Found your bat, you walked the wrong way,"

Sora rubbed his eyes as he nodded his head, muttering a thanks to Riku as he slowly took it, trying incredibly hard to force his breathing to come slowly. As he nodded his head, the two walked towards the locker room, Sora still in a trance, his brain swapping between the conversation he had overheard and making sure that his breath was nice and slow. He was so deep in thinking that he hadn't realized he was even in the locker room until he heard Roxas calling out.

"Be there in a second," Was his reply, not even sure if that was the answer, he shook his head as he grabbed his uniform out of his bag, returning moments later dressed in the sports uniform like his team mates. Sighing, he ensured the buckle of his orb belt was on tight and secure before he closed his locker and made his way out of the room.

It didn't take too long before he had reached the stadium, where Sora took note that the other team had already made their way onto the field and were deep in training exercises. Placing his struggle bat onto his shoulders, he walked over to the his team, who were already starting with basic exercises.

Throughout all the training, Sora could only concentrate for a short time, his mind constantly wondering. He would constantly look this way and that, watching as people would make their way in and out of the arena, munching on some type of snack, talking and laughing, and some even pointing at the members of each team while they smiled and waved. Sora gave a quick glance, not even aware that the rest of his friends were all looking down at him, some concerned with the way Sora was looking at the moment, somehow the boy looked a lot more pale then usual. In fact, it wasn't just his friends who were starring at him.

"Sora? ...you ok?"

Sora was snapped out of his trance when he looked up, seeing Pinocchio with his hand on Sora's shoulder, looking at him with some concern. Sora took a small breath as he nodded his head, trying his best to put a smile back on his face as the Coach looked him up and down, taking a sigh as he said, "Look, if you're going to be sick, don't pressure yourself into doing something that will make you worse,"

But Sora shook his head, "No, i'm fine...just nerves, I just need a second," and Pinocchio gave the boy a look, before he nodded his head as he called everyone else over, giving a small cough before he began.

"Now listen guys, I know that we've had problems with this team before, and granted that they manage to come at us at the beginning, but with this new talent here..." Pinocchio pointed to both Sora and Roxas, "...I have no fear that we'll be able to make it to the State tournament," and with that, everyone placed their hands together, and cheered "Twilight Heights Heroes!" before the entire stadium cheered, as Sora looked around, and saw that the other team was doing it's own cheer as well. As Sora turned around, he could not help but be amazed at how many people were actually standing around cheering, not just for the home team, but also for them. It was truly amazing to notice how plenty of Twilight Heights High students had come to see them play their first game. Sora looked towards Riku who was busy soaking up all the cheers, and as the team captain, Sora knew that the man deserved his moment in glory.

Just as the noise of the audience began to go quieter, a voice over the PA began to echo, which Sora recognized almost instantly, "Welcome Ladies and Gentleman to the very first game in the Gaian School State Tournament. Who will be representing Destiny Islands this year? We shall find out today, as always i'm your Twilight Heights Host, Hayner Strugglman..."

"...and I'm Olette Sunflower, your Host from Departure Academy," the woman's voice was unknown to Sora, but the woman seemed to be friendly enough, a little bit more relaxed then Hayner.

"As you know each year, these two teams fight to decide who will be representing Destiny Islands across Gaia, and is considered a very important event across students and teachers alike,"

"Do you think that's why both schools put a fair amount of the school budget into this event Hayner?" Olette asked.

"More then likely, though i wouldn't be surprised if it was for illegal gambling purposes," Hayner joked, but when he heard a few of the teachers boo'ing amongst the laughter, and saw one of the teachers making their way to the announcement box, he quickly slipped in an apology before he returned back to the field.

"And it seems like before we begin, both team's cheerleaders would like to give a pre-game show, which i'm sure we will all enjoy, i know i wi-OWCH!" The sudden shout of pain caused most of the people around to look up, and from what Sora could see Hayner had just been slapped by the girl sitting next to him. It was obvious to the young man (and almost the entire stadium) that there was something going on there, but he had no time to ponder it as he took his seat on the bench along with his other team mates.

Sora watched as several cheerleaders from both sides began to walk out into the field. While wolf whistles and cheers were sounded, Sora could not get into the same mood as Riku was. He sighed as he looked around, most of the audience members just looking towards the centre, Sora couldn't even see his friends, probably looking over each of the women or looking at the other team. Sora sighed as he leaned back into his seat, waiting for the cheers to end, as they walked off, Sora once again heard Hayner's voice.

"And with that bit of entertainment over with, we come now to the friendly greeting of the teams, led by the two team captains,"

Sora watched as his other team mates began to get up, and Sora picked himself up as together the five made their way towards the other team, who all looked just as big and properly trained as they did. They each shook the others hand, nodding and muttering a good game, but Sora could tell in their voice that they really didn't mean it whatsoever.

When Sora had shook the last persons hand, each team member walked until they were standing behind the other, the captain's of each team being flanked by their own members. Sora looked behind him as he watched the referee walk out onto the field, leaning over to Roxas as he said, "I thought Struggle didn't have Referee's?"

"School ones do, these are only kids, gotta make sure none of them get seriously injured by a struggle bat," Roxas muttered, and Sora nodded his head in understanding as he watched the man walking between each of the two captains, saying as he did, "Alright gentleman, i want a nice friendly game, no cheap shots, no attacks on the face, and remember to have fun...shake hands,"

Riku and the other team's captain shook hands, nodding at each other and said "Good luck," Both in a serious tone. When the stadium erupted in cheers wishing their team luck, Sora watched as his other team mates returned back to their seat, each allocating when they would be going. Sora took his time as he took the final seat next to Roxas. He looked as both Riku and the Captain nodded their heads in rivalry, as the referee looked over to the corner, where a man with two cases walked towards the three.

Sora was a bit confused as he watched the man place a case at the feet of both Riku and his opponent. They both opened up at the same time, and Sora watched as Riku bent down and took out three Green orbs, looking at one for a moment, he smirked as he attached them to the claw-looking locks, which loosely locked the orbs in place. When he had placed the last of the three onto the right hand side, Riku looked at the opposite side of the belt, at the three empty holders, before looking at the blue orbs that his opponent had on his Right had side, before Riku smirked and swung his bat around, before standing in his battle stance.

Once the opponent had done the same, the man picked up both cases and quickly left as the ref looked from Riku to his opponent, before withdrawing his whistle from his pocket, giving them one more look, before saying in a clear voice "three...two...one...STRUGGLE!" and blowing the whistle as hard as he could, before moving back.

Sora took a breath as both Riku and his opponent stood still, waiting for the other to make the first move. Sora looked up to the giant scoreboard, the 15 minute counter slowly going down, showing even the milliseconds as they sped down as quickly as anything. Sora turned back to Riku, who rotated his struggle bat slowly, not even blinking as he stared down his opponent.

Soon, the teenager his first two steps before lunging at Riku, who instantly reacted by stepping to the side, before bringing his bat down against the legs. Sora watched as the teen crashed to the ground, Riku just having enough time to smack his bat against the first latch, allowing the orb to fall out and swooped it up before his opponent was up and swiping his bat once again.

Riku pushed himself back as his opponent took another swipe at him, Sora could barely hear what Hayner was saying as he watched Riku's opponent began demonstrating a variety of slashes and cuts, Riku continued to dodge and block each one of his attacks, but a moment lapse in concentration allowed his opponent to hit two of Riku's latches, causing them to burst open. Before Riku had any time to registered what had happened, his opponent had taken the lead, causing half the stadium to cheer and the other half to groan.

Riku looked from his belt, which now only contained two, To his opponent who was busy smirking in success, but from the look that Riku was now giving him, he didn't need Roxas muttering in his ear to know that Riku was about to do something big.

Riku took one step, and instantly dodged the first attack, before he swung. His bat instantly connected with his opponents, but the opposing captain had no chance to retaliate when Riku came back with his second attack, causing the captain to trip. Riku wasted no time in slamming his bat against the two of the latches, which promptly opened up. Riku retook his orbs as he jumped back, knowing that this captain had clearly gotten his position from skill, he went on the defensive quickly as anything, dodging attacks left right and centre, ensuring that he wouldn't lose his concentration, before he heard the siren go off, followed by a whistle, which Sora thought was strange they would do both, but ignored it as Twilight Heights supporters cheered as Riku held his bat up high, enjoying the cheers he was receiving as he saw a red dot appear on the scoreboard, noting that they had scored a single point.

Riku removed the blue orbs from his belt, and handed them back to his opponent, who took them with a small nod, before Riku walked up and handed the teams orbs to Tidus, who was next in line, before everyone moved down one seat, and Riku took a spot next to Sora.

"So, how'd i do?" He grinned, and Sora gave him a small smile as he said, "Well, you scored the point, so good job there," and Riku muttered as he looked towards Tidus, "Unfortunately one point is nothing if they manage to score three points here," and RIku leaned back as he watched the second round begin.

Sora sighed as his focus left the match in front of them and instead went off towards the crowd once again, who were all watching the match between them. His thoughts once again returned to Kairi, and what she had said in the hallway. Sora sighed as he looked to his left, and up amongst the stands, before his eyes widened.

There she was, sitting amongst the others who were all cheering at the game. He could not help but see that she was one of the more passionate there. Riku had been right when he had said that she had a thing for sports players, and Sora sighed as he looked at how she was looking at Tidus.

Sora closed his eyes as he concentrated on his breathing, like he had been doing throughout the entire day. For most days, he had only needed to rely on his breathing exercises for a few days, but now it seemed like he was checking his breathing every 5 minutes. He wasn't sure whether the extra oxygen was likely to kill him, or if the voice in his head would do that for him by days end, but he found that closing himself off from the world so it was only himself there allowed him to fully control himself...for a few minutes at a time anyway.

A violent shake from his side forced him to open his eyes. He wasn't sure whether he had just fell asleep or not, but from the look of the scoreboard, he noticed that they weren't doing too well at all.

"How did i ignore them scoring 2 points?" Sora almost said out loud, and by the time he realized what he had seen, he felt the glare of both Tidus and Wakka, "...sorry guys," He let out rather lamely as he turned to Riku, who looked like he was starting to get nervous about the score, but he calmed down a bit as he looked towards Roxas, who nodded his head as he stood up, taking the orbs as he placed them inside the latches, closes his eyes before a small smile appeared on his lips, before he walked towards the field, meeting his opponent.

"Watch this," Riku muttered to Sora with smirk on his face, and Sora looked surprised at Riku. He should have known that Sora already knew about Roxas' ability, what was there more to be shocked at when it came to Roxas?

But even as Sora watched Roxas standing up there, he could not help but think that there was something about Roxas' poise that told Sora that there was something more that Roxas had up his sleeve, and therefore could not keep his eyes away from the match before them.

Roxas turned and stared at his opponent for a second, looking the lanky man up and down for a second, before he smirked, and flipped the bat, the handle pointed to the ground. The referee looking at him for a moment, before he shrugged, and started the count down. When he reached 0, the opponent had no time to react before Roxas took one step forward, swinging the bat full circle as the handle connected to his opponents legs, flipping him over before he landed on his back.

Everyone stood in awe as Roxas flipped the bat back the right way as he smacked the latches open, the orbs rolling out as he grabbed them, slotting them in the latches as he stood back, waiting for his opponent to get back up. But the man looked like he was in so much pain that he couldn't even get up, and by the time he had reached his knees, the buzzer went off, and both teams were tied.

The entire stadium exploded in cheers and shouts as Roxas nodded his head, while the other team looked completely shocked at the young man who had just single hardly taken out one of their team members in less then a few seconds. As Roxas handed the orbs back to his opponent and walked back to the team, both Sora and himself nodded their heads as Roxas returned to his seat, and Sora looked up, his opponent already walking up to the field.

Sora took a breath as he softly locked the orb's into place, before he stood up, taking his struggle bat, which despite being made of rubber was feeling rather heavy, he sighed as he managed to get himself up, closing his eyes as he knew the entire crowd was watching him, but as he opened his eyes, he looked up towards the one section that his friends were, and for a moment looked at Kairi, who gave the young struggle player a small smile. Sora sighed, knowing that she was merely being nice, and nodded his head at her.

"That you're girl?" Sora looked up to his opponent, whom looked like he had confidence flowing out his ears. Before he could make any sort of comment, the boy looked up and said, "The red head? she looks hot...might give her a call after I beat you," He looked back to Sora with a smirk on his face, and Sora could not help but look at the man before him, not sure he had heard him correctly, but the boys raised his eyebrows, and all of a sudden, he felt his heartbeat increase rapidly.

What the teen had just said had angered Sora, even if she wasn't his 'girl', the way he was talking about Kairi caused him to completely ignore everything he had been doing prior to that moment, and could feel the presence of Vanitas standing right behind him.

"Well, seems like Kairi has someone new to go to," Vanitas stood behind Sora as he muttered into his ear, Sora shook his head as he tried to ignore the voice, but try as he might, he could not get the sneering sound of Vanitas out of his head. It was obvious to Sora that this kid was only trying to get a reaction from him, hoping that Sora would stuff up, but logical thinking had escaped the boy at the present time.

"Maybe after all this is done he'll take Kairi and fuck her in one of the classrooms," Vanitas laughed at the thought as Sora began to feel himself become possessed with anger and hatred, it becoming even more blood boiling when Vanitas turned to whisper in his other ear.

"Maybe they'll let you watch as well," Vanitas smirked, and Sora's was momentarily blinded by rage, not even hearing the referee begin the game, and only slightly feeling his cocky opponent breaking open the first latch and collecting the orb.

Sora looked from the orb he was busy placing in his buckle to his own struggle bat, gripping it with all his might as he silently roared, bringing the bat back as he smashed it against his opponent, who only had a split second to see and even less time to defend. He staggered back, looking up just in time for Sora to take another hit as he tried to raise his struggle bat, but his dizziness caused him to only with only half the effort, as Sora used all his strength to swing the bat, which forced his opponents to fly out of his hand.

Riku and Roxas both looked at joy at the easy victory they would gain from Sora. But as Roxas looked towards Sora, the smile on his face slowly disappeared as he watched Sora's eyes switch from blue to gold and back again. He didn't need Ventus to tell him that Sora was already losing control of Vanitas, and it was only a matter of time before Sora would lose the small amount that he had.

"Riku, we have to stop this," Roxas said softly, and Riku looked at Roxas with a look that questioned the boys sanity, but when he saw the seriousness in Roxas' eyes, he looked back to Sora, and realized that there was something definitely wrong with Sora.

He wasn't aiming for the latches hanging on the boys side, rather Sora was concentrating all of his energy on delivering devastating attacks on his opponent, wherever he could get an attack. Arms, legs, stomach, Sora was delivering each blow with such force and passion that even with the rubber struggle bat, they still would have hurt.

As the boy was struggling to stay up, Sora gave one last roar as he swung his bat with all his might against the boy's chest. The sound of wood cracking was heard as the rubber portion of the bat broke off against the boy, flying away from the two as it landed a fair away at the edge of the court. Sora growled in anger, Vanitas laughing in his ear at success, until he saw the young boy buckle to his knees and hit the ground. Sora's eyes widened slightly as regret and shame entered his body. Sora was back, as his eyes looked at the boy, questions plagued his brain, the loudest of which was, _"Oh Yevon, what have i done?"_

"...what you were born to do,"

Sora shook his head as he backed off from the scene, the broken handle of his struggle bat falling slowly from his hands as the sound of it connecting with the floor echoed. Sora could feel the whispers of others from all around the giant stadium, he looked towards his teammates, who all had looks of confusion and fear, he looked up to his friends, all of them confused except for Kairi, who had a look that mixed sadness with fear.

Sora kept his head down as he turned and made his way out of the arena, not bothering to look at any of the faces that were looking his way. He wasn't sure where his feet were carrying him, until he found himself at the locker room. Sora felt a tear escape his eye as he placed his fist against one of the lockers, slowly tapping it again as another tear escaped, before he roared in anger as he buried his fist deep into the locker, making a small indent in the process. But this didn't cause him to stop as again and again he hammered his fist as more tears began to drop, and soon he added angry shouts of "Why!?"

"...Sora?"

The male voice caused him to cough as he let out a small sad smile, knowing that it was perhaps the only person in the world who had any clue what he was going through at this moment, he sighed as he said, "How pissed off is Riku?"

The spiky blonde haired young man let out a small chuckle as he placed his hands behind his back before he leaned against one of the lockers at the other side of the room, saying as he did, "Well, I think he's more worried about how you're feeling then how we lost...we all are,"

Sora sniffed as he wiped his eyes, not saying a word as Roxas muttered, "Vanitas?" and he nodded in response, which caused Roxas to sigh as he softly swore, "Shit,"

Sora let out a small chuckle as he said, "Yeah, tell me about it," before sighing and turned around, feeling the weight of his body for the first time that day as he allowed himself to slide down the locker and onto the floor. Sora didn't bother watching as Roxas walked over and sat next to him, saying as he did, "What happened?"

"What do you mean what happened? I got angry, there's nothing else to explain," Sora sniffed as he hit his head against the locker.  
"I know the other team sometimes gets us a little excited, but even i didn't break my bat against my opponent," Roxas said, and Sora looked at him as he snorted, "No, you just tripped him up and waited for fifteen minutes,"

Roxas smirked as he said, "Saw that he had a bad pain in his leg and took advantage of it, don't worry, he'll be fine once he walks it off,"

"Yevon above Roxas, you sure you don't have a dark side in all that light," Sora gave a small laugh as he sighed, and Roxas smirked as he said, "Come on then Sora, tell me what made you so angry,"

Sora sighed as he wiped his eyes clear of everything before he looked towards Roxas, "The kid was trying to get me angry, hoping i would make a mistake...guess i did," He looked around this way and that as he sighed before looking back at Roxas.

"How did he do it?" Roxas asked, and Sora sighed as he muttered, barely hearable to Roxas, "He saw me looking at Kairi, and made some cracks about her,"

"And Vanitas took it seriously," Roxas finished as he nodded his head, sighing as he smacked his head against the locker once before he looked towards Roxas, who just looked at Sora as he sighed, before saying, "It's ok,"

"There's more Roxas," He sighed as took a breath, waiting for Roxas before he continued, "Before, when i was looking for my struggle bat, i heard Kairi, she was saying that she didn't like me, she made that..." Sora took a gulp as he struggled with the next words, "...very clear, and i just couldn't help but let it get to me...and it just fueled the fire for Vanitas..."

Roxas took a moment before he began to chuckle, which caused confusion as Sora looked up to Roxas, "What?"

"Sora, you clearly have a lot to learn about women," He smirked as Sora sighed in frustration, saying as he did, "Seems i get that a lot...but what do you mean?"

"When a woman publicly declares that she does not like a boy to her own friends, odd's are they have some sort of feelings towards him," Roxas smirked as Sora looked up towards him, a bit of confusion on his face as he said, "How much?"

Roxas shrugged as he said, "Could be a little, could be a lot, all thats sure is that she likes you," before he felt a vibration in his pocket, and picked up his phone from his pocket.

Sora sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. How had been in this mess. This morning he had been meditating on the beach, and now he was neck deep in this trouble that he had caused, if only he hadn't been such an idiot. But that was Sora, never much of a thinker and always a man of action. He would rather spend his time striking first and asking questions later. That was Sora.

"Everyone's waiting out front, Coach just wants to make sure you're alright before he attacks you for not taking a few of the orbs," Roxas smirked, and Sora let out a soft chuckle as he said, "And what about Riku and Kairi?"

"They're more eager to see you are ok," Roxas smirked, and Sora smiled as he said, "Tell them i'll be out in a minute," and Roxas nodded as he stood up as he made his way towards the door, stopping as he did as he turned around.

"You sure you're gonna be ok Sora? Don't need your dad to take you home," and Sora shook his head as he said, "Dad's working today, hence why he couldn't be here...but i'll be fine, i'll come out to say hi to everyone before I leave," Sora sighed as Roxas nodded his head, before he left the room.

Taking a deep breath, Sora rose as he moved over towards the bathroom that was connected to the locker room. Finding the nearest sink, he began to run the water as placed his hands under it, before running the wet hand through his hair, the bangs once again falling into place. He sighed as he cupped the water into his hands, before he splashed it onto his face. He looked into the mirror, taking note of his pale face, which seemed even more whiter then before.

As he closed his eyes and opened them, he almost jumped back in fear. For a split second, he though he saw his eyes turn to gold, and the fearful look on his face swapped with one of confidence and cockiness. Shaking again, he widened his eyes with his fingers, but they stayed the blue that he was so used to, before he shook his head. Making his way back to his locker, he grabbed his clothes, quickly changing and placed his clothing back into his bag as he swung it over his neck, holding onto his black jacket as he made his way out of the room, he took one more look at the room, before he sighed, and made his way out of sight.

**_x_**

_Hallow Bastion Psychological Rehabilitation Asylum._

_Hallow Bastion. _

_Present Day._

**_x_**

It was already mid afternoon, and Aqua was already getting a headache. She had been at Hallow Bastion for a few weeks now, going over paperwork that had only recently been reconstructed, and even that wasn't any help to her. She rubbed her eyes as she looked around her office. Clearly it was bigger then her office back at the Mako Energy Monitoring Station in the Destiny Islands, filled with computers, tablets and an even larger TechDesk, and yet it just seemed so more different, and a lot more complicated then she was used to.

A knock at her door caused her to look up from her work. It was one of her researches whose name she could not remember, "Is there something you wanted?"

"Dr. Villiers, you wanted us to look into anything that was going on the night of new years?" The researcher said, and Aqua nodded her head as the researcher began typing something into his sTab+ as he walked over to the TechDesk, "Well, I found something on one of the CCTV's in the area that you might find interesting,"

Aqua looked curious as she got up from her desk and walked over to the TechDesk, where the researcher flicked the file onto the desk, which showed a video file. As he pressed play, Aqua watched as a bunch of students were making their way through the street, disappearing out of sight a few moments later.

"What has this got to do with Jenova?" Aqua asked, a little confused as the Researcher cleared his throat, "On a hunch I checked where these kids were going, apparently there was some sort of social event going on at the beach, so-"

"You think there's a good chance that Vanitas or Ventus could have been at that social event," Aqua finished as she returned back to her desk, as the researcher said, "We've narrowed it down a little, but we can't confirm how many students were there, or even if we can name any of them," but Aqua smirked as she reached inside of her pocket, withdrawing her phone as she said, "Let me worry about that," and the researcher nodded his head as he made his way out of her office.

Aqua typed in a number as she hit the 'call' button, holding to her ear and waiting for a few moments before there was a response, "Shinra here,"

"It's Aqua...we might have something," Aqua muttered as she began typing something into her computer, "We think whoever it is goes to one of the schools here,"

"How sure are you of this?" Shinra asked, and Aqua got up and looked at the video agiain, before she responded, "80, 90% sure," to which Aqua heard him smirk over the phone as he said, "We need to keep tabs, we've got Departure Academy under ShinraEducation,"

"Even so, thats a less then 50% chance that Vanitas or Ventus goes to that school," Aqua muttered as she ran a hand through her blue hair as she heard Shinra sighing and typing something.

"Alright, i'll make some calls, place the other school, Twilight Heights High into ShinraEducation," and Aqua heard the man smirk as he finished typing something in, saying as he did, "By monday morning, among other things, we'll have a complete surveillance of Twilight Heights High...and we'll be that much closer to catching them,"

**_x_**

**_Song: _**_My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) - Fall Out Boy._

**Wow, so, ahh...hey there guys.**

**Right, first things first, Happy Christmas, New Years, Australia day, Valentines Day and any other overseas holiday that i might have forgotten. I hope you all have had a wonderful holidays. Cause they've absolutely killed me.**

**With me starting uni soon, mixed with work and no motivation. to write, it's been quite a killer for me, but i'm back, and ready to give you a lot of chapters. Hopefully Uni doesn't kill me too much so i can give you some quality chapters.**

**But throughout all of it, i have had the wonderful support of so many people who have read, reviewed, subscribed and favorited, you guys are the reason i keep doing what i do best, so a round of applause and special thanks to **mrkhrules, Lenchkumaximus, lion5589, DestinyKeyblader28, R Recollect, EthanFlux, SiChri, kheroxasoray, Keyblades of Oblivion, Random Reader 17, Kairiangel035, Nathan Murray, TheLittleLostDevil **and **baileymermaid95. **Sorry again for making you all wait so long, i hope you enjoyed it, and expect more to come.**

**Regards with love, Read, Review and Subscribe.**

**Jared Someone.**

**PS. I wasn't sure if i had named the Twilight Heights High Sports Team before, if i had please let me know what the name was so i can change it, thank you all! xD.**


	20. Big Brother, Birthdays and Falling Stars

**_J _**_enova _

**_x_**

**_IXX_**

**_x_**

_Strife Household._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The birds outside the window chirped softly outside Sora's house, and yet the boy had not been interrupted from dreams because of them. He had not gotten a single wink of sleep throughout the night, partly due to his brain working overtime as he went from one thought to another. The other reason vibrated on his phone for the umpteenth time that night.

Not even bothering to look, Sora reached for his sPlayer+ as pressed on the Recoded app on the device.

It was once again another student hoping that he was alright. It was weird for Sora as he scrolled through the wall posts of people hoping that he was ok after the weekend. Probably when he was considered a social pariah, he would have been receiving abuse at how he had lost, but it seemed all these people wanted to know, like his friends, that he was ok. He looked at it for a moment as he sighed, before he placed his phone onto his side desk as he closed his eyes, trying to get some form of sleep before school.

But every time he closed his eyes, his mind would return to one word. _Jenova. _The word that had been plaguing his head for months now, what did it mean? He was sure that the word was made up, but even so, why was his head so plagued with it. Sora hadn't wanted to research the word from fear of it, but now he was curious more then ever about it.

Slowly opening his eyes, he checked the time on his phone, which was telling him getting up for school would be a good idea. Sighing, he headed for the shower, where as he entered and felt the hot water against his skin, he smiled as his mind returned to the texts of his friends, who all seemed to worry about Sora. The boy wasn't used to such niceties from people, and the warm feeling both from the hot water and the caring of his friends stained a smile on the boys face.

As he managed to get dressed, he ensured that his books were in his bag before he bounded down the stairs, where he saw his dad had prepared a very large breakfast consisting of everything from bacon and eggs to sausages and fried poupu fruit. Sora walked in cautious as he said, "Alright, whose dying?"

Cloud, who was wearing an apron and buttering some toast, turned around and said, "Arn't I allowed to make a breakfast for my son?" and Sora looked at him for a moment, before shaking his head, "Not without an ulterior motive," He slowly sat down as he began to slowly grab some breakfast.

"Maybe i just want to make sure that you are ok," Cloud said defensively as Sora placed a bit of bacon into his mouth, shaking his head as he swallowed, "Nope, that's not it either," and Cloud sighed as he looked at his watch, before looking back at his son, as he cleared his throat.

"So, what time were you getting back today?" Cloud asked, and Sora took note of how nervous the man was, to which he replied slowly, "Normal time, four," and began to butter a piece of toast before he took a bite out of that.

Cloud nodded his head as he looked around, again clearing his throat, "Listen, when you get back theres something we-" but was interrupted as Sora looked at his phone, saying as he did, "Yevon damn it, i'm gonna be late, sorry dad, gotta run," and with that Sora bound out of the room, where Cloud heard the door slam, and ended lamely "-need to talk,"

Sora was soon riding down the streets on his Fenrir, looking this way and that as he grew closer to the school. He waved at kids that he knew, who were eager to wave back at him. Sora smiled as he turned into the school, parking at his usual place, where he was only a tiny bit shocked to see Kairi and Riku standing there.

As he turned off the engine and removed his helmet, he smirked as he said, "What brings the both of you here?" and the two were extremely excited as they both waited for Sora to get off the bike before they grabbed his arms and dragged him towards the school. Sora noticed that people were already lining up to get into the school, but when they saw Sora, Riku and Kairi, they all made way as they burst into the school.

Sora's mouth dropped as he looked around, his first thoughts was that he had actually stepped into the wrong school by mistake. The entire area looked like it had been remodeled in a similar fashion to Departure Academy. Sora noticed all the lockers had been redesigned in the thumb pad and readout screen, many students were lining up to receive their sTab+, Sora looked to see the Security cameras slowly gliding from left to right, and began to get a little nervous about it. Sora coughed as he looked to Riku for an explanation.

"Sunday ShinraCorp revealed some new schools that would be apart of ShinraEducation, and Twilight Heights High made the list, their people went into overtime in installing the latest in Shinra Products, by weeks end we should have everything in place," Riku grinned as he looked around, and Sora nodded his head at the young man, trying to show the same enthusiasm that he had, but as he looked away, there was something that Sora could not shake off.

The timing of ShinraEducation was the main thing that was bugging him. Just a month after his event with Roxas in Traverse, Shinra had decided to place Twilight Heights High under ShinraEducation, once again controlling the Education within Destiny Islands. The connection, though very slim, was there, and seemed to bug Sora more then anything.

Slowly walking down the corridor to his locker, he found it fairly easily, his number and name shining on the readout. He looked at it for a moment, before he slowly placed his thumb on the scanner, which shone green as a familiar cool voice said "Thumb print recognized, welcome Sora," to which his locker clicked open.

Sora looked at it for a few moments before he muttered, "Wonder if you can set it so it doesn't speak all the time," but his eyes widened as the locker suddenly said, "Greetings disabled," and looked towards his friends as he said, "Just when i thought this couldn't get any more futuristic," causing his two friends to laugh, as Sora placed his helmet into the locker and slammed it shut, he heard footsteps coming from around the corner and saw Roxas, Namine and Axel walking towards them.

"I'm just saying you can't deny these things are cool Axel," Roxas muttered as Axel shrugged, looking up as he said, "No, but those security camera's are seriously giving me the creeps," He shivered as he looked towards his friends, waving at them as they walked up to each other to greet them.

"You enjoying the new surroundings?" Riku asked, and before anyone could make any sort of comment, Axel shook his head as he said, "It's going to be twice as hard to pull anything off with these cameras looking at me,"

"Well shouldn't be hard for someone like you Axel," Namine smirked, and Axel shrugged as he said, "Of course, but still..." he trailed off as he looked at the camera's, glaring at it before he leaned against the lockers.

Sora also looked at the camera, wondering if it was the school who was watching them, or someone more sinister. Looking to Roxas, he said, "Rox, mind if i have a word with you?" and Roxas nodded his head in curiosity as they made their way out of the building, Sora not taking any chances with the camera's and his doubts about Shinra, he looked around to make sure no camera's nor students could hear him before he said, "Jenova,"

Roxas' eyes widened as he said, "How do you know about that word?" and Sora folded his arms as he said, "So, you dream about it too?" and Roxas nodded his head, "Ventus always said Jenova was important, but that it was dangerous as well...which is why all I know about it is the word,"

"I always figured something that could please Vanitas was best left alone, but know i want to know," Sora sighed as he looked around the building, "Does any of this seem off to you Roxas?"

"You mean Shinra putting in cameras about a month after new years?" Roxas asked, and Sora smirked as he nodded his head. He shouldn't have been too surprised that Roxas already knew what he was talking about as he said, "I will admit when I first heard it it seemed odd, and with both of us knowing about this Jenova, it's all a bit too coincidental for my liking,"

"Roxas..." Sora said slowly as he rubbed his head, "I think Shinra has something to do with this, our whole situation, I know that sounds-" and Roxas finished his statement, "Completely ridiculous? Yeah, it does...and yet I can't help but agree with you at the moment," Roxas sighed as he leaned against the wall, "All this conspiracy bull crap is hurting my head,"

"Mine too, but we have to figure out what's going on, if Shinra is willing to invest Billions of munny for something that involves us, odd's are it isn't for a good reason," Sora looked around as his eyesight brought him back to the school as he muttered, "Whatever the reason, I don't think we should talk about Jenova or anything to do with it while inside school, if Shinra has voice responding lockers, who knows how advanced those camera's are, outside is the only place that feels safe..." Sora looked around as he added in a mutter, "And even here still makes me feel uneasy,"

"Agreed, and I think anything online could be at risk, if we have to talk, we'll have to do it in an open area where we can't be heard all too well," and Sora nodded his head as he saw the last of the students making their way inside the building, saying as he did, "Come on, we're going to be late for class," and Roxas nodded his head as together the two made their way inside the class, Sora taking one last look at the empty area behind him, almost convinced that there was no one looking outside at him, because the eyes were already inside.

**_x_**

_5 hours later..._

**_x_**

Sora sighed as he heard the bell go for lunch. Having been on a free period, he went through the papers that were on the bench in the cafeteria. Most of it was homework he had missed while doing struggle training, for which he was still trying to catch up on. He sighed as he saw some of the students making their way into the building. He sighed as he gathered up the papers, determined to finish them later, he looked up as he saw Kairi and Roxas making their way towards him. He stuffed the paper into his bag as he looked up at the two and smiled.

"Enjoy class?" He asked, and Kairi smirked as she said, "Yes, it was amazing, with all that new technology in there, it just makes everything much more exciting,"

"I don't get why everyone gets so amazed at technology, i'd much prefer just a chalkboard," to which Kairi scoffed at the blonde, "Says the guy who asked his mother for an sPhone+ for his birthday,"

"You're birthday's coming up Roxas?" Sora asked, who was sure that he should have already known that from his Recoded account. Roxas nodded as he said, "Next month, March 14th," he smiled, and Sora looked at him for a moment, not being able to stop himself from smirking.

"No kidding? I'm March 14th as well," He chuckled, and Kairi looked from one to the other as she gasped, "It's like you two could be brothers," Both chuckled before they looked up, curiosity as clear as day on their faces as they muttered at the same time, "Yeah...we could be,"

Their trance was broken out as they heard Kairi say out loud, "Well, you know what that means now," and both Sora and Roxas looked at her clueless, before she said, "Party!" loud enough that some of the heads turned.

Widening their eyes, the two boys both shook their heads, but were unable to say anything as the voice of Riku and Axel were heard behind them, "Whose having a party?" and again Sora and Roxas were silenced as Kairi shouted out, "These two are, they're turning 18 on the same day,"

Both Riku and Axel looked at each other with smirks on their faces, already planning what they were going to do. Sora rolled his eyes as he laid back, suddenly hearing a chuckle. Sora turned this way and that, not sure what had made the noise, as he shook his head, going back to the conversation at hand.

"No Axel, we're not going to get strippers for our 18th," Roxas said rather sternly, "We didn't even decide if we're going to have a party,"

"What do you mean? You think we're gonna let you turn into legal adults and NOT have a party," Riku scoffed as Sora sighed, again feeling the laugh deep in his brain. Shaking his head, he looked at Riku, "I just don't see why we have to use our birthday as a reason to drinking, besides every time someone has to have a party they have to worry about whether everyone's having a good time, or if their window is going to get broken among other things,"

Riku coughed out a laugh as he placed his hand on his friends shoulder, saying as he did, "Sora, you don't have to worry about a thing, we'll take care of everything, trust us, it's going to be a great birthday," and Sora let out a smirk, before suddenly he felt a deep pain in his head. Closing his eyes, he moaned as he placed his head on the table.

"Sora?" Kairi asked in fear, and Sora shook his head, until he opened his eyes, his breathing coming rather heavily as he felt the sweat fall from his head. Looking up, he muttered, "I'm just feeling a little sick at the moment, can you cover for my last classes," and the others nodded their head in responce, Riku and Kairi ready to get up and help him, but Sora shook his head as he said, "I'll be fine...call later," and looked at Roxas, who nodded his head as he turned and walked out of the Cafeteria.

Shaking his head, the laughing ceased as he made it to the car park, where he found his bike. Placing his hands against it, he let out a deep breath of relief as he grabbed his helmet, which he had grabbed before making his way out of the school. Making sure that his brow was completely free of sweat, he placed the helmet on, before he roared his vehicle to life and was soon on his way down the streets.

Sora sighed as he concentrated on the road, the signs and people around as he felt that sick feeling moving from his head all the way down to his stomach. Shaking his head every so often, he took a deep breath as he cleared his mind, concentrating solely on what was in front of him.

He couldn't understand what had come over him. Ever since Kairi had brought up his birthday, laughter had echoed throughout not just his head, but it was like it was going through his body, and yet it was making him anything but happy. It was as if this laughter was a sickness, in which he knew that something was terribly wrong, and yet he couldn't control it, because he had no idea what was causing the laughter.

Shaking his head once again, he looked up to see that he had arrived in his street. Parking the bike up his driveway, he sighed as he managed to get off the bike. Placing the helmet underneath his arm, he walked up the driveway to see that the door was partially open. Remembering that his dad had gotten the day off, he opened the door as he said, "I'm home early dad, was feeling si-" but stopped mid way as he turned the corner.

Lying on the couch, Cloud was in a vicious lock-lips attack with a brunette woman. At first Sora wasn't sure what to do, but as Cloud's eyes looked from his female guest to Sora, and the two un-puckered with a loud 'pop', Sora finally got a good look at who his father was kissing, and let out in a rather loud yell, "Dr. Gainsborough?!"

Both of the adults grew bright red as they backed off each other, now sitting on either side of the couch. Sora could barely say a word as he walked from the entrance to the end of the room, looking at each of them with disbelief in his eyes. Cloud cleared his throat as he said, "Sora, we can explain,"

"You! and Roxas' mother! were on the couch...making out!" Sora's sickness was now completely gone and replaced now with repulsion. His own adoptive father and Roxas' mother were getting to second base.

"Now it may look bad, but there is a good-" Cloud was once again cut off by his son's noise of disgust.

"You were dry humping each other!...on the couch that we SIT ON!" Sora shook his head, trying to remove the mental image that was currently scarring his brain at that point in time. Cloud looked a little guilty as Sora waved his hands in disgust as he stomped into the kitchen, not bothering to grab his helmet that had fallen to the ground as he sat in the chair, huffing.

Sora didn't have to wait too long before Cloud slowly entered the room, looking at his son as he tried to muster words. As he opened his mouth to say something, Sora held out his hand as he walked to the fridge. Opening it up, he took out the large bottle of lemon soda, placing it on the counter as he closed said fridge and moved to one of the draws, taking out a glass as he slammed it on the table. Filling the glass with lemon soda, he drained it, before pouring another glass for himself. Repeating the process another three times, he took a deep breath as he said, "Go,"

"We started dating when you were in the hospital-" Cloud began, but again was interrupted as Sora erupted, "YOU HOOKED UP WHILE I WAS DYING IN-" But stopped himself once again as he filled his cup with lemon soda, drained it, and allowed Cloud to continue.

"We've been seeing each other, we just didn't want to tell either of you incase things didn't work out," Cloud muttered, and Sora groaned as he leaned against the fridge, "Great, my life is a soap opera, I can't go to school without something bad happening, and I come home to find my dad is screwing my good friends mother,"

"Hey, come on now Sora, that's a vulgar term to use," Cloud said a little sternly, and Sora looked back as he said, "Hey, i've gotta describe what i saw there, and it looked pretty vulgar to me,"

"She's a very nice lady if you got to know her," Cloud muttered, and Sora once again retorted, "I'm sure she is, and if i can ever remove the mental image you gave me a couple of minutes ago i might be able to look her in the eye sometime in the future," to which Cloud rolled his eyes as he grabbed his son.

"Well, now's the time to get to know her," and with that he pushed his son into the living room, where Sora only had a moment to curse his father before he looked up to see Aerith fixing her hair, a little surprised as she said, "Oh, Sora...it's nice to see you,"

Sora mumbled something that sounded like, "Nice to see you Dr. Gainsborough," and Aerith smiled as Sora sat down, trying to find something to talk about, but continuing to be interrupted by the image of herself and Cloud on top of each other. Shaking his head, he tried to think of something intelligent to ignore what he had just witnessed.

"So, you're a doctor right?"

_Smooth move idiot._

Aerith nodded her head, "Yes, I'm a Doctor...I treated you remember," and Sora mentally slapped himself as he nodded his head, "Have you always been at Destiny General?" and Aerith smiled as she shook her head, "No, before i was a Doctor, i worked in the Pharmaceutical Devision of ShinraCorp,"

This bit of information caused any previous thought to clear from Sora's as he said, "Really? What were you working on?"

"Oh, just some prototype medicine to combat Geostigma, and then some stuff to do with Biological Warfare before I decided to retire from Bio-chemistry and move to medical science," she sighed in memory, Sora having the feeling she had lost her as she began to ramble.

"I used to work with a lovely man named John Hojo, a bit peculiar, but he worked on the Artificial Intelligence that runs ShinraCorp's technology side. The Artificially Educated Revolutionary Intelligence System, known around the office as AERIS,"

"AERIS," Sora muttered, as Aerith said, "He used my voice print as the voice of AERIS," and Sora clicked his fingers as he said, "I knew I recognized the voice Shinra was using, it's yours," and Aerith smiled as she nodded her head, before she continued, "But soon after that he was re-assigned, that's when things got weird,"

"Weird?" Sora asked, and Aerith nodded her head, "Some of my old friends were transferred, began working very strange hours, things in ShinraCorp changed...that's when I decided to get out of Shinra and become a Doctor of medicine,"

"You wanted a simpler life?" Sora said slowly as Aerith smiled, "Doesn't everyone," and Sora could not help but give her that one. He sighed as she continued, "So i settled down, began working for Destiny General, and in time adopted Roxas," She smiled as she suddenly clicked her fingers, saying as she did, "That reminds me, I need to pick up his birthday present," and Sora nodded his head as he said, "Yeah, he's having his birthday soon isn't he?"

Aerith nodded his head as Suddenly Cloud entered the room, saying as he did, "Well, i've left you too for long enough, what're you talking about," Aerith smiled as she responded, "About Roxas birthday, it's on March 14th,"

"What a coincidence, your's is the same day isn't it," Cloud turned to Sora, and he nodded his head as suddenly he heard the laughter once again, only this time it was louder. Groaning, his hands flew to his head as he bent down, where suddenly Cloud and Aerith were standing on top of him, saying as they did, "Sora? You alright?" and Sora nodded his head as he said, "Headache, i'm just gonna lie down,"

"Take some aspirin Sora, you'll feel better," Aerith said in a rather worried tone, and Sora nodded his head as he made his way out of the room, up the stairs, and had just enough time to reach his bedroom before he felt himself lose conscious and fall on his bed.

And then, the black setting became more clear. He looked around as he carefully took a step, making sure that he was still on solid ground. He raised his arms, to make sure that he could still see. His hands looked normal, though he still had a few doubts. Touching his face to make sure he was really there, he looked around to see if where he was. But the entire place was complete darkness, and yet he could still see his hands as clear as if he was in the sunlight.

Shaking his head, he heard clapping from behind him. He slowly turned around to see Vanitas standing a few feet away from him, dressed in a fine black suit with matching shirt and boots, running a hand through his black hair as he said, "Seems like you wanted a face to face in my world,"

"Your world?" Sora asked, as he wiped his sweaty palms against his jeans and biker jacket, looking into the golden eyes as Vanitas smirked, "I must commend you, in all the times that i've been living in your mind, not once have you decided to come to me,"

"I didn't mean to," Sora muttered, and Vanitas shrugged as he said, "It doesn't matter if you meant to or not, you wanted to be here...that's why you're here,"

Sora took a deep breath as he said, "I'm only here because of your laughing...what did you find so funny anyway?" and Vanitas smirked as he said, "You're birthday...your 18th, the day our biology officially recognizes you as a man," and once again Vanitas laughed, causing Sora to back of slightly as he said, "You find me growing up funny?"

"No Sora, I find what will happen within the coming weeks funny," and Sora looked at the man with confusion as Vanitas gave him an evil smirk, "All those years ago you were formed for one thing, and one thing only...and soon the event's that occurred so long ago will come to pass, and you will be ready,"

Sora shook his head as he said, "Ready for what?" and Vanitas smirked as he disappeared, but not before leaving in a cold voice, "What you were born to do,"

"Vanitas?...VANITAS!" Sora shouted out, but it was too late, he was gone. And soon, Sora began to view things rather fuzzy. He took two steps, before he felt himself falling, his arms flailing this way and that, before he couldn't even see his hands in front of his face.

"Sora?...Sora!" Sora heard the voice of his father call out in the darkness, and soon things began to get clearer. He was in his room, with Cloud standing over him with a worried look on his face.

Sora coughed as he looked around, groaning as he slowly began to get up, but was pushed back down by Cloud as he was handed a small pill and a glass of water, "Take this, it'll make you feel better," and Sora nodded his head as he took the small pill, taking a few sips of water as he felt the pressure of his head begin to disappear. After a few moments, Sora coughed as he sat up, Cloud taking a spot next to him as Sora shook his head, waiting for a few moments as he said, "Is everything alright son?" and Sora looked at him as he nodded his head, saying as he did, "Yeah, i guess,"

"Only you were moaning in your sleep, and you were thrashing around when I walked in," and Sora groaned as he placed his hand to his head, shaking it once again as he withdrew his phone from his pocket, which was telling him that he had been asleep for the past few hours, even if they had only felt like a few minutes to him.

He sighed as he leaned against the wall, all this was because of his psychological condition, but even that was starting to lose its truth. Was it all in his head? or was there some deeper reason as to why his subconscious manifested Vanitas in his mind every time he got anxious, and why this connected with his sudden strength, speed and anger? He coughed as he realized that there was a single word that might connect everything together.

And what better person to ask then his father.

"Dad," Sora said slowly as he took a breath, "Does the word Jenova mean anything to you?"

Cloud was surprised at first, to see his son struggling to remain conscious to now asking a question, but it was more the question that surprised him, "Why, I haven't heard the name Jenova in so many years,"

"You mean you know it?" Sora asked in disbelief, and Cloud smirked as he leaned back with his son, saying as he did, "Once upon a time, Jenova was the most well known Phenomenon on the planet," and when he looked at the confusion in his son's face, he began his story.

"Around the 1960's, some astrologists discovered a Meteorite called Jenova, the Meteorite had been traced from the corners of our galaxy, which was what made it well known...at first,"

"What do you mean 'at first'?" Sora asked, and Cloud smirked as he said, "In 1973, and once a year after that, Jenova could be seen traveling through the night sky across all of the Planet. What was so amazing was that it was clearly visible by people, and yet it wouldn't be pulled into the Planet's gravitational pull. Many scientist theorized that it emitted it's own energy source that allowed it to...well, ignore basic rules of gravity, but without actually seeing the meteor, this was all just theory,"

"So what happened to it?" Sora asked, clearly it had stopped doing it's ritual, else he would have known about Jenova long before this moment, and Cloud smirked as he said, "In 1991, for no reason whatsoever, the meteor finally gave into gravity as it broke our atmosphere, and crash landed into the Planet,"

"Where?" Sora asked almost instantly, and Cloud thought about it for a second before he said, "If I remember correctly, it was near Hallow Bastion,"

Hallow Bastion. Where Sora had spent almost all of his life. But there was something more...it was also owned by ShinraCorp.

"Dad," Sora asked, once again slowly, "Did ShinraCorp had anything to do with Jenova," and Cloud looked at his son, a smirk appeared on his face as he said, "Nothing was ever proved," and he pattered his son on his head as he managed to get off the bed, and walked to the door, muttering a good night as he closed the door.

Sora was in so much shock that he couldn't call out to Cloud. What had he meant 'nothing was ever proved'? Was there some sort of conspiracy to do with this Jenova Meteor and ShinraCorp, or was the whole thing a wild goose chase. As Sora found himself lying back into his bed, he could not help but think that the more he uncovered, the more he realized that Shinra was definitely more involved in the boys life then he had realized, and mixed with what Vanitas had said before, he was sure that there was definitely more to this then just a rock.

**_x_**

**Woah guys, i go away for months and suddenly give you another chapter in a day. What is wrong with me? well i have no idea, but hopefully it continues =P**

**I know this chapter was rather short, but the truth is all the information that i needed to share was put into this chapter, added with a sprinkle of humor, drama and Clerith, i hope you enjoyed reading as much as i enjoyed writing.**

**A wonderful thank you once again to all my readers, including **Stepfanny, R Recollect, Lion5589, Soushin5, EthanFlux, DestinyKeyblader28, Fluoricia, Keyblades of Oblivion and Baileymermaid95. **You guys are the wonderful reason why i continue writing, and hopefully you have continued to enjoy reading.**

**I hopefully wont be too long on the next chapter, so keep a look out =)**

**Remember to read, review and subscribe.**

**Jared Someone.**


	21. Happy Birthday

**_J _**_enova _

**_x_**

**_XX_**

**_x_**

_Twilight Heights High School._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

Sora looked at his phone for the umpteenth time that morning, still taking note that the time had not changed since the last time that he had been looking at it. Placing it in his pocket, he looked around, still noticing that not a lot of people were there. But then again, who would want to be at school at seven in the morning when they could have been relaxing.

Sora sighed as he looked at the building, ever since the change it had seemed somewhat different. The inside of course had changed dramatically, but it was also the outside, which to everyone looked exactly the same. But to Sora, it was different, it was as if this wasn't the same school that he had been to many times before, it was now a stranger to him. Maybe that's what Shinra did, took something familiar and made it a stranger to others, like what they had done to the workers that Aerith had formally been friends with.

Speaking of a Gainsborough, Sora looked up as he saw the young son of the Doctor walking towards him, dressed in a black coat over his usual jeans and a t-shirt. Sora didn't blame him, he could still feel the cold despite the fact that it was spring now. Maybe it was because Sora had called to meet him at one of the coldest moments of the day, but even so, there was no chance that anyone could be there to overhear them at this early in the morning.

Sora didn't have to wait long before Roxas had reached them, but when he got close enough to talk, neither of them could say anything, both staring at their shoes for a moment before Roxas muttered, "...You're dad was over again last night,"

Sora shuddered as remained quite. It had been a month since Sora had walked in on the two, and yet every time Aerith was over, or Cloud called to say he would be late home, Sora could not help but mentally go back to that first image. Shaking his head, he muttered, "I think it's best if we don't talk about it," and Roxas nodded his head. Clearly he had seen or heard something that was currently scarring him, and Sora was in no mood to open any old scars.

"If you don't mind Roxas, i'd like to talk about anything you've learnt instead of what my dad and your...well," Sora took a breath of disgust as Roxas placed his hands in his coat pocket as he nodded his head.  
"Mum doesn't talk about it too much, she just keeps going over the same story like your dad did," And Sora sighed. Ever since he had heard the story from his dad, he had researched it over and over again, on computers, conspiracy sites, and all that was said was that there had been rumors that Shinra had been looking into the Jenova meteor, but nothing had ever been proven.

"Your mum was asking for Shinra around the time the meteor fell wasn't she?" Sora asked, and Roxas nodded his head before he stopped, giving Sora an accusing look, "Do you think she had anything to do with it?"

But Sora shook his head, "No, but i think if there had been any talks, she might have heard something,"

"You want me to interrogate my own mother?" Roxas asked, and Sora shook his head as he said, "Just ask her if Shinra had any side projects that involved Jenova, or if she ever heard anything about it," and Roxas looked a little uncomfortable about it. Sora sighed as he placed an arm on the boys shoulder.

"Look, I know it's difficult, but we have to find out whats going on...ever since i had that conversation with Vanitas, it's been freaking the hell out of me. Whatever is wrong with us it seems like it's going to get worse after our birthday, but maybe if we can find out what has happened we might be able to do something about it,"

"Like what?" Roxas asked, and Sora let out a small frustrated sigh, "I don't know exactly, but all we can go on is that it has something to do with Shinra and Jenova," and Roxas sighed as he said nodded his head.

"Alright, i'll ask her...but it won't be till tomorrow, she's working late tonight and also there's the party,"

Sora rolled his eyes as he started walking towards the front of the building, "Tell me about it...It's going to be a very long and frustrating night night," and both the boys made their way towards the front of the building.

From behind the side of the building, a figure stepped out. His hoodie zipped out, but his fire-red hair brighter then anything, and his green eyes looking towards the two boys, Lea Valentine looked towards the boy as he placed his hands in his pockets, saying to himself, "What are you hiding Roxas?"

**_x_**

_Five Hours Later._

**_x_**

Sora and Roxas both exited their language class rubbing their eyes. Clearly the lesson had been boring for the both of them as Sora yawned, saying as he did, "Why anyone would want to learn Ancient Spiran i have no idea,"

"It's not all bad Sora, it's actually a beautiful language," Roxas smiled as he typed one last thing in his sTab+ before putting it away, and Sora smirked at the boy as he said, "Yeah, well i don't have a psychological hallucination telling me what everything means in plain english," and Roxas continued to zip up his bag as he said, "The day they outlaw Psychological Hallucinations whispering in your ear is the day i'll stop letting Ventus do it," and both the boys chuckled as they found themselves heading outside towards the Cafeteria, where already a number of their friends had already gathered.

"Ah,there you are, all excited for tonight?" Riku smirked as he slapped both Sora and Roxas on the back, to which Sora rolled his eyes as he said, "Riku, our birthday isn't till tomorrow, and who says i'm even going at the moment,"

"Yeah, i mean we have a lot of language homework to get done before tomorrow," Roxas muttered, and Riku looked at them with shock on his face as he said, "You would seriously give up a night of partying for homework?" and Sora smirked as he responded, "There's always that option,"

Riku looked at the two for a moment, before he let out a laugh as he slapped Sora and Roxas on the back once again, saying as he did, "That was hilarious guys, you two crack me up," and both Sora and Roxas rolled their eyes as they made their way to their seats.

"Ah, here's the birthday boys now," Kairi clapped her hands in delight as Namine got up and awkwardly hugged both Roxas and Sora, the latter letting a small guilty smile stain his lips as he quickly went for a hug with Kairi, who although was a little awkward was far less guilty.

Sitting down, Riku began to talk, "Right, everything is planned for tonight. Sora, you're coming over early so i can dress you and give you something better to wear then your usual getup,"

"Anyone else ever notice how queer Riku gets when he's partying," Roxas muttered, and everyone let out a small giggle as Riku glared at the two, "Well, maybe next time i won't give you a party,"  
"We didn't want a party this time Riku!" Sora cried out, causing more laughter as Riku rolled his eyes, "Of course you did, don't be ridiculous," and Sora rolled his eyes as Riku continued, "Everyone will be there to wish you two a happy birthday at 7, party till late, and since it's saturday tomorrow they can leave the next day,"

"Where Riku will then begin paying thousands to have the house fixed up," Sora whispered to Kairi, who let out a small giggle as Sora returned back to Riku, "Should be great man,"  
"Nothing is too great for you Sora...oh, and I suppose you as well Roxas," Riku waved the blonde off as he said, "Oh, gee thanks Riku," and everyone else laughed as Riku looked up and waved, "There you are Axel, was wondering where you got too,"

Everyone turned and smiled as Axel made his way towards the five, Axel giving a semi-warm smile as he said, "Had some stuff to talk about with Blanchard, Roxas do you mind if I talk with you for a sec," and Roxas looked at his best friend as he nodded his head, "Sure man," and Roxas gave a short goodbye as he got up and followed Axel out of the Cafeteria, across the quad and into Staff building, waiting until they were in a free corridor before he turned around.

"What the hell is going on Rox?" Axel muttered in frustration as Roxas took a step back, clearly confused as he said, "What do you mean?"

"I dunno, Sora gets to school and you talk about how much trouble the kid is despite everyone seeing him as quite, you're absolutely convinced that this kid is trouble, and then all of a sudden after he's in the hospital you two are best buds, having the time of your life, that doesn't seem a little odd to you?"

Roxas took a breath as he said, "Look Axe, I was wrong alright, and you don't understand, it's complicated?"

"Complicated? I'll say, I mean it's almost as if you were the one who attacked Sora, and you're feeling guilty," Axel said casually, and Roxas gave a seconds worry before he let out a believable laugh, "Yeah, like i could ever attack someone,"

"Well then what is it Roxas? What changed?" He asked, and Roxas said, "I got some time to know him, he's not as bad as i originally thought,"

Axel raised an eyebrow, "This coming from the guy whose gut is _never _wrong?" and Roxas said, "There is a first time for everything," as he turned to walk away, but stopped as Axel muttered, "What's Jenova?"

Roxas froze for a moment, looking up to see there was no security cameras, before he said, "How do you know about Jenova," and Axel scoffed as he walked to his friend and faced him, "I heard the two of you talking before, or did you forget i have to get here early after the prank i pulled on the science department?" and Roxas stuttered for a moment before he heard the voice of Ventus in his head. _"It's a meteor rock, that's all he needs to know,"_ and Roxas nodded his head as he said, "It's a meteor that crashed down to the Planet years ago, me and Sora are researching it for a project," and Axel scoffed.

"One, you're not in the same science class, and two, the way you were talking about it, you were mentioning ShinraCorp as well, as if this one some kind of Conspiracy," Axel folded his arms waiting for an Explanation, and Roxas sighed as he wiped his head, saying as he did, "Axel...this is complicated alright, and it's my birthday tomorrow, can we talk about this some other time," and Axel sighed as he rubbed his eyes and nodded his head, "Alright, you get till the end of your birthday weekend to tell me what the hell is going on...I just don't wanna see you get in trouble, you're not good at getting out of it," and Roxas chuckled as he said, "Excuse me? Who got both of us out of trouble when you managed to clog the sinks in the teachers lounge in the 8th grade," and Axel laughed as he placed his arm around the boys neck, saying as he did, "You have your moments Rox," and together they made their way out, both of them blissfully unaware of the flashing camera that Roxas had failed to see right at the opposite end of the corridor...

**_x_**

_Hallow Bastion Psychological Rehabilitation Asylum._

_Hallow Bastion._

_Moments before..._

**_x_**

Sirens went off as all computers within the area began to blare. Aqua looked up from her work as she bounded out of her office onto the main floor, men and women alike were rushing to their stations as Aqua yelled out, "What the hell is going on? Is that a system breach?"

"Negative," One of the technicians yelled out, "One of the cameras picked up a Primary and Secondary word within conversation," and Aqua's eyes widened as she walked over to one of the computers, saying as she did, "Get it up on the main screen now!" Already aware that the camera's were trained to be on high alert when a person mentioned the word 'Jenova' and 'Shinra' in the same sentence.

The camera was in a school hall, where two students were conversing, turning away as they did, Aqua called out, "Get me the recorded footage of that conversation, and any other camera we can get!" and instantly several researchers began typing something into the computers, Aqua trying to steady her breathing for the next few moments as one of the researches called out, "No other camera's, but we have been able to identify the two students," and Aqua yelled out, "Get their information on screen now,"

Typing out information into the computers, The face mixed with the thumbprint scan already on record allowed them to access birth information, location, school records, essentially everything that they needed. As the information flashed onto the screen, the researcher began to read out, "Lea Valentine, Father was Vincent Valentine, who was a former researcher and head of the Replica Program before it was shut down, he fits a lot of the information...oh wait,"

"What?" Aqua called out as the researcher shook his head, "No his records state he was born at Destiny General, mother died at birth, he continued work into Human Cloning before he was arrested by the WRO, his current address states he lives with his grandparents,"

"What about the other kid there!" Aqua called out and the others were still typing, "It's gonna take a minute, we're cross referencing the back of his head with school photos so it's a little more...wait!" A sound was made as information began to show itself onto the main screen, "Roxas Gainsborough, orphaned at birth, adopted by Aerith Gainsborough, former scientist working in ShinraPharmaceuticals, now a Doctor at Twilight General, cross referencing his birth date with the time Jenova began,"

More typing was heard as one of the scientists yelled out, "Birth record shows born March 14th, which was the time both children were abducted, now doing a Match to one of the subjects,"

Aqua's heart skipped a beat as she nodded her head, waiting for what the computer said. After only a few minutes, a tiny ding sound was heard as the computer showed a bright '83%' chance that the boy was one of the subjects. Giving a small smile, Aqua reached for her phone as she muttered, "Happy Birthday Mr. Gainsborough," and hit a button as she turned back to her office, saying as she did, "Shinra...we may have found one of the subjects,"

"Excellent, which one?" he asked, and Aqua sighed as she said, "We're not sure which one it is, and even if the other one is close by, but if he's researching Jenova, then that means-"

"-One of his friends could be the other," Shinra said slowly as there was silence for a few moments, before he muttered, "What we need is to get him and his friends into an area under false pretenses, so we can interrogate the boy into revealing which one of his friends is the other subject,"

"You have any ideas?" Aqua asked, and Shinra let out a soft chuckle as he said, "I think i have a good idea, I'll have the boys in ShinraEducation prepare something for them, a little...holiday," and Aqua hung up as she turned around, as she looked towards the giant photo of Roxas Gainsborough, sighing as she did.

**_x_**

_Heartilly Manor._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

"I will never get over how incredible this lower area is," Sora muttered as he sat down in Riku's own private clothing shop, Riku going through item over item as he muttered, "You get used to it, especially seeing as you can never find the right clothing around here," and Sora let out a laugh as he once again questioned his best friend's sexuality for the seventh time that day.

He looked around as he called out, "You know if you don't hurry up the guest's will be here and drunk," and Riku called out in success as he walked out and placed some clothing onto one of the chairs, saying as he did, "There, try that on," and Sora rolled his eyes as he grabbed the clothing and made his way into the change room. Riku looking at one of his several hats, finally choosing a fedora as he swung it round and lightly placed it on his head so his bang's wouldn't get completely ruined as he looked at one of several mirrors, appreciating the white fedora as he called out, "You know, i think white's my color," and Sora scoffed as he unlocked the door and walked out.

The boy was now dressed in a pair of Heartilly Brand dark blue jeans and rolled up white t-shirt with black buttons. His shoes were the same boots that he had warn at the end-of-the-school-semester party, and he was now wearing a very fashionable pair of sunglasses. Sora rolled his eyes as he slipped his hands in his pocket, saying as he did, "You've done it again Riku," and both boys laughed as they made their way out of the room.

Lying down on Riku's bed, Sora turned to the man who was busy typing something on his phone as he muttered, "Thanks for all this Riku," and the boy looked up as he smirked, "Anything for you man," and Sora chuckled as he placed his hand on the crown necklace that was normally hidden underneath his shirt. Looking at the family heirloom, he smirked as he placed it under his shirt once again, patting it as he got up, ready to leave when all of a sudden he heard Riku call out to him.

"Oi, aren't you forgetting your birthday present," and Sora rolled his eyes as he said, "Riku, you didn't have to get me anything," to which the boy smirked as he handed him a small box, saying as he did, "What's the point of being rich if you cannot buy awesome presents for your friends," and Sora rolled his eyes as he slowly undid the packaging and looked at the item, a look of shock on his face, "Riku...I can't accept this," But Riku smirked as he said, "You can and you will...it's all yours," and Sora just looked back down in his gift in shock, not believing what it was.

It was an sPhone+, the very latest in it's line, the boxing was sleek in its design, showing a picture of the whole glass phone. Sora looked back to Riku, who smirked at the boy as Sora chuckled, before he slowly slipped off the top of the package, before looking directly at the product.

To Sora it looked like a square piece of glass, like his sPlayer+, though the main difference was that there was now a black thin bar along the edge, which Sora instantly knew was the Wifi/4G bar to allow calls. As he slowly picked it up, the glass lit up as he realized his thumb and forefinger was still on the phone. As Sora moved his thumb, an imprint of it was still on the glass, as the words _Initializing start up sequence... _appeared on the phone.

Sora was surprised as he continued watching, as the first words disappeared, and were replaced with _Now loading fingerprint identification... _Sora looked towards Riku, as he said, "Shinra combined several social networking, websites, schools under ShinraEducation and stuff like that to allow a quick download of contact information, Recoded Contacts and phone numbers, and even applications that would be of use to you," Riku smirked, and Sora wow'ed as he looked towards his phone, which now was reading _Identification completed, Hello Sora... _and Sora shook his head as he said, "That's unbelievable," as the greeting disappeared, replaced with the ShinraCorp Logo, before apps appeared on the phone. Sora wow'ed silently as he looked through his contact list, even seeing how Shinra had downloaded music onto his phone based off of his favorite artists from Recoded. Sora looked up to Riku as he shrugged, "I splurged a little bit, got you a 5 year subscription to Shinra's SymSound, short for Symphony of Sound, it downloads music for you for free if you're subscribed to it," and Sora shook his head as he said, "Riku...this is nice, but it's so expensive," and Riku slapped his hand on Sora's back as he muttered, "Sora...you only turn 18 once," and with a wink, he let himself out of the room back into the underground clothing store.

Sora coughed as he looked at his brand new phone, within a few minutes shaking his head as he slipped his glass phone into his pocket as he sighed, again his thoughts returning to this control that Shinra had. Once again they had the ability to gain information in a heartbeat. Every turn that Sora made he could not help but Shinra was right there, gathering information, and storing it. It was as if he wasn't a human, just a record, somehow obtainable by Shinra...and if they could get his personal information just as quickly, how long would it be before they found out what he really was. Sora knew that time was running out...it was just how long Shinra would take that was the question.

Shaking his head, he looked at his clothing as he walked to the side, before he watched riku exit the room.

Dressed in a fine black buttoned shirt with white vest, a pair of black jeans and nice looking boots with the same fedora that he had been wearing before and a smirk on his face as he said, "Sora, i recon we're ready to get laid,"

"You mean celebrate an 18th?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow, and Riku shrugged as he said, "Isn't that what i said?" and Sora rolled his eyes as Riku looked at his watch, saying as he did, "Come on, guest's will be arriving soon," and he made his way out of the room, with Sora behind him, who was too busy rolling his eyes as he slowly made his way behind his best friend.

As Sora slowly walked down the stairs, he saw that Riku was already greeting people he had never met before. Assuming they were from Departure Academy, Sora used the time to quickly duck out into the backyard, where he breathed as he made his way back towards the drinking table, where several were packed with alcoholic drinks. Taking one, he opened up the Potion and started to drink, feeling the lemon zest hit him as he coughed a little bit, feeling something inside of him that he had been feeling for the past month. Shaking his head as he took another swing of the potion, he looked out into the sunset as he sighed, leaning against the banister as he smirked at the view, the cooling air mixed with the picture perfect setting caused him to forget all of his troubles for one bliss brief moment, for a moment he wasn't Sora Strife, who was suffering from a Psychological Disturbance called Vanitas and hunted by the Mega corporation ShinraCorp, he was just a kid, about to turn 18, to finish his senior year in high school, to go on to do...well, whatever he wanted to...

"Sora?" the voice caused him to look around, and a smile appeared as he saw Kairi, dressed in a red dress and dark blue jeans, She walked up to the boy as she said, "Wow, looking good birthday boy," to which Sora rolled his eyes as he responded, "Im not the one looking amazing Kai," and they both smiled as Kairi came in for a hug, holding it for a tiny bit longer then he was expecting, but nevertheless Sora enjoyed the prolonged hug as he let go, taking note of the tiny blush that only lasted a few seconds before she held out a small box, muttering a happy birthday as Sora graciously accepted the gift, slowly unwrapping it as he was soon looking at a black box. Popping open the cover, he looked in awe at the gift as Kairi began to explain.

"It's called a WayFinder, it was given decades ago by wives to husbands, partners, best friends, its a symbol to say no matter what happens, no matter how far away you go, you'll always come back," She smiled as she looked from the gift to Sora, who was amazed.

The item in question looked like a star, attached were 5 silver pieces that connected to a small diamond crown. The chain was made of metal, and Sora looked in awe as he looked to Kairi, "Kai, this must have cost..."

"Didn't cost me a thing Sora, my Aunt Serah gave me a few when i was younger to give to people i care about, Riku has one as well along with Namine and Roxas," She smiled, and Sora merely shook his head in shock as he took out the charm, wondering whether to wear it around his neck on not. Not wanting the shell to become damaged from his crown necklace, he slipped the chain around his belt before slipping the item into his pocket, saying as he did, "There, now i'll be sure i won't lose it," and Sora gave Kairi a hug as he whispered, "Thank you," into her ear, as he backed off and scratched the back of his head.

As the two turned around, they found more and more people making their way into the backyard, most of whom Sora recognized from school. Sora was suddenly dragged away from Kairi as he began shaking hands with many a people around, all who wished him a happy birthday. The happiness Sora was feeling drove away the laughter of Vanitas as he began hugging and laughing, every time he drained a potion he felt someone shoving another one into his hands, and the mood of the entire area lightened as he look over and cheered, "Roxas!"

Roxas, who was dressed rather smartly grinned as he walked up to the man as he shook his hand, having to yell out, "Happy Birthday!" as Sora hugged him, someone placing a Potion into Roxas hand, and they clink'ed glasses as cheers for both the boys echoed throughout the area.

Sora and Roxas both found seats, clearly feeling the buzz from the alcoholic drinks as they both smirked at each other, watching others walking around as they danced, chatted, and enjoyed everyone. Roxas was soon dragged away from the seats by Axel to start doing shots on the table. Sora smirked as he lied back, taking another swing of potion as he looked this way and that, before he saw Hayner walking up to him, in the arms of a woman that he only barely knew.

"Sora! Happy Birthday man," Hayner shook his hand as Sora nodded, before looking towards the brunette woman, who held out her hand with a small smile on her face, "Olette Sunflower, i was presenting at the Twilight/Departure game," and Sora nodded his head as he looked at the closeness between the two, "I take you two are..."

"Year and a half," Olette smiled, and Sora nodded his head as he looked towards Hayner, "I haven't seen you at any of the other parties though?" Sora asked, and Olette rolled her eyes as she said, "Well, that's partially due to my parents...ever since i got into Departure, i was round the clock supervision while i studied...but i do get 'shore leave' every once and a while," and Sora nodded his head as the two both gave a light kiss to each other, before Olette turned and said, "Have a happy birthday Sora," and the two of them went into the crowd to dance.

Sora smirked as he watched the two disappear, before he watched Riku push his way through the crowd and up to the hired DJ that was standing their mixing tunes. He whispered a few words to the DJ, before he was handed a mic, and the music slowly lowered as Riku tapped the mic, saying as he did, "Oi, shut up the lot of you," and people gave small chuckles and boo's as everyone slowly simmered down. Riku smirked as he began.

"Now i'm only gonna take a moment of your time, cause i know how much you wanna sit here and party," and Riku grinned as people began to cheer loudly. Looking this way and that, he called out, "I want Roxas Gainsborough and Sora Strife to get up here," and Both boys made their way up to the front. Sora could already tell that Roxas was drunk by the way he managed to struggle his way up up there stairs. Sora smirked as he stood next to Riku, with Roxas swaying on the other side. Riku chuckled as he put his arm around Roxas, saying as he did, "You alright buddy?"

"You have 6 shots of Elixir and stand up straight," Roxas hiccuped, and Sora made a noise in disagreement, clearly he had managed to do it before, and those that had heard it gave a chuckle to Sora.

"First...I wanna talk about this kid," Riku slapped Roxas on the back as Roxas almost took a tumble, having to be caught by Riku who grabbed his shirt and held him back, "You can feint after Roxas," and again everyone laughed as Roxas looked this way and that.

"Now, I've known Roxas for a very long time, i've grown up watching him develop struggle skills which would rival any professional, he's always been there to listen to, and has always been wise...but today he turns 18, and hopefully all that wisdom goes right out the door for the next couple of years," Riku laughed, along with everyone else, as someone from the crowd shouted out, "I think it's gone already!" and Riku nodded his head as he placed an arm around Sora's shoulder.

"Now this kid I haven't known for quite as long, but he has quickly become one of my closest friends," Riku smirked as he slapped Sora on the back, who flinched a little as he smirked, Riku continuing as he did, "No man is without secrets, and Sora seems to have his fair share...but despite this, he could be one of the most driven men i have ever met...and no one will ever be able to take that away from him," Riku smirked as he looked towards Sora, and the latter nodded his head as he turned back to the audience, with a grin on his face as he called out, "But we're going to try our best tonight!" and the cheers erupted as Sora and Roxas managed to get down, Sora finding it easy, but Roxas being lightly caught by Namine, as both laughed as they made their way out of the area. Sora smirked as he raised his glass to the boy, before he caught a red head flying towards him, just managing to get his glass out of the way before he caught Kairi, who was giggling like a mad woman.

"Hello there birthday boy," She giggled, and Sora smirked as he said, "You seem to be having fun,"

"Oh I am having...a _wonderful_ time," She grinned, before she softly began to kiss his neck, Sora instantly feeling awkward as he asked, "Ah, Kairi? What are you doing?"

"Giving you your birthday present," She giggled softly as she began to kiss the other side of his neck, before Sora stuttered out, "Kai, you already gave me my birthday present," and she grinned as she whispered into his ear, "I'm giving you your second birthday present," and Sora could not help but chuckle at her logic, but as Kairi began to drift her hand against his chest, Sora began to feel a little awkward, though his mind began to enjoy it, he shook his head as he grabbed her hands, saying as he did, "Kairi, maybe we shouldn't,"

"Why not? I want you Sora," She giggled as she stepped up and kissed his lips, Sora's eyes widened as his mind returned back to the party at Memories Skyscraper, the same drunk Kairi against him. But last time it had been driven because she had seen Riku hooking up with someone else, though this time it was something different, Was being drunk the only reason? Some people said that alcohol was like a truth serum, it magnified hidden feelings, but maybe it was just a combination of lust and Sora's birthday, it could be any reason, but he couldn't be sure.

Sora scrunched his eyes as he grabbed the shoulders of Kairi, saying as he did. "Kairi...you're drunk, these aren't your feelings," and watched as Kairi stared at him for a moment, before he felt the anger surging from her, before she managed to get out of Sora's grip, before muttering, "Go to hell Sora," and walked into the crowd.

Sora stood there, watching the red head walking away, not even able to call out. He sighed as he managed to force his way through the crowd before finding a seat, his mind turning towards what Kairi might do now. His first thoughts would be to hook up with either Riku or Axel, who would probably be more then happy to accommodate. It was his fault, he should have been more caring about rejecting her, and yet he knew that if he had kept going something bad was bound to happen. He ran a hand through his hair as he leaned against the chair, he took a potion from the collection, popped the cap and began to take large quantities of the liquid. Sighing deeply, he closed his eyes, this birthday definitely one of his most entertaining, though whether it was good or bad was another story entirely.

Sora rubbed his eyes as he began to feel sleep slowly come over him. He wanted to stay up and watch everyone enjoying themselves, but he could not help but allow the sleep to slowly take over him.

"...Sora!" said man jolted awake as he looked around, still plenty of people looking around and partying, but Riku was the one in front of him, his arms on his shoulders trying to shake him awake. Sora suddenly jumped up as he muttered, "What? What the hell?" rubbed his eyes as Riku said, "Have you seen Kairi? Someone said you two were getting friendly,"

Sora waited for a moment before he shook his head, saying as he did, "I haven't seen her for..." Not sure how long it had been, he checked his phone, before he silently swore and said, "...not for a couple of hours," and sighed as he got up, saying as he did, "I'll look for her, don't worry," and before Riku had any chance to change his mind, he began to make his way through the crowd.

Passing through one person to another, Sora looked around, not wanting to draw anymore attention to himself, he gazed across the large group of people, none of them looking like Kairi. Sighing and rubbing his eyes, he continued walking, until he came across a group of secluded students, who Sora already knew were taking Materia. He looked over each of them, until his eyes widened.

Towards the back with someone Sora didn't recognize, Kairi was lying against the house, Sora already taking note of the two Materia already in her arms. Sora made her way over to her, where the man took another one of the Materia in his hands and was ready to place another one into her arm.

Sora made his way over to Kairi and scooped her up, listening as the man said, "Hey, what are you doing?" and made to get up, but suddenly Sora glared at him, a glare that brought down the full force of Sora's potential power in one look, and suddenly the mysterious stranger backed off, knowing full well what would happen if he tried to get in his way. Sora waited a moment before he made his way out of the secluded group.

"Mmm Sora why did you take me away, I was having fun," Kairi smiled as she looked up to Sora, and Sora sighed as he looked back to her, "Yeah, fun, till you end up waking up with Materia Bruises and your mums questioning red eyes and pupil dilation..." Sora managed to climb up the stairs with the young woman in her arms, before he continued, "Hell, you might even turn out like me, see strangers, hallucinations and try to kill Roxas," he smirked as he managed to get through the doors, knowing that Kairi was so out of it she wouldn't even remember him saying it.

"You're really tall, like Yevon...are you Yevon Sora?" and Sora smirked at his proven theory and at the dazed girl as he said, "No, just an average guy...or average as I can be," he made his way up the stairs and down the hall, making his way past dozens of doors before they came to the end. Sora couldn't be bothered trying to find which room Kairi had taken for her own, and seeing as Sora had originally decided to stay up all night he had dumped his school stuff in Riku's room.

"Sorry Riku, we're commandeering your room for the night," and using his back managed to push the door open. He sighed as managed to locate Riku's queen sized bed, where he gently placed Kairi on the bed, "What are we doing here Sora?" She asked giggling, and Sora turned around, seeing the bight light emitting from her arms. He sighed as he said, "We're here so you can get some rest," as he began walking towards her, he sat on the bed as he began to hear the young girl shiver.

"There's the cold sweat seeping in," Sora muttered as he walked over towards Kairi, "I didn't see this when others took them," and Sora smirked as he looked towards her, seeing her eyes even in the dark thanks to the glowing Materia, "That's probably because everyone you've seen take it has gotten used to the affects, and judging by how bright this is glowing, this is your first or second time," and Kairi nodded as she gave a weak smile as she said, "Second,"

"Oh, glad i'm not seeing your first time then," Sora smirked as he looked towards Kairi, seeing her shiver as he took the blanket and wrapped it over themselves, Kairi snuggling up to Sora as he placed her arm over her. He sighed as he moved her hair away from her forehead, before he lightly kissed her, saying as he did, "What am I going to do with you Kairi,"

"You know I do love you Sora," She said gently, her eyes now staying closed as Sora shook his head, chuckling as he said, "I know you do," as he saw Kairi breathing up and down, slowly sleeping.

He sighed as he muttered, "Between You and Vanitas, i don't know how i'll survive...maybe i'll just sleep," He muttered, as he himself closed his eyes, and before too long he too was sleeping, the two in the dark, with the shining Materia still in her arms the only light within the room.

**_x_**

**Wow, that was long...well, not as long as my other works, but still i'd like to think it was somewhat long.**

**SO how did you all enjoy this chapter? lots of mystery, romance, drama, anything else i can think of, i enjoyed writing the tech side of this story, though i usually do enjoy giving you guys details of the tech side xD**

**guys, i hate to say it, but we're about 10 chapters away from this story finishing, it's currently heating up, you guys are soon gonna get lots of information...but maybe not the next chapter...or maybe you will, i'm not sure yet =P**

**A huge thank you to those reading, but also those who have reviewed, including **Soushin5, Getsuga TENSHOU15, lion5589, Lenchkumaximus, R. Recollect, DestinyKeyblader28, Khheroxasoray, Fluoricia, baileymermaid95, Keyblades of Oblivion and EthanFlux. **You guys are the reason why i love writing oh so much, please continue being awesome by giving me lots of reviews.**

**I'm not too sure when i can give you guys the next update, but worse comes to worse you guys should get an update by the weekend. I hope you have enjoyed these constant updates to the story, i'm re-falling in love with this story once again =3**

**Keep being amazing everyone, and remember long reviews about what you love/hate/enjoy/despise/anything you feel, i wanna know xD**

**Jared Someone.**

**PS. An apology for any serious major spelling/grammar mistakes you see, i did try to look as hard as i could for them but you'll always miss one or two. Love you guys! **


	22. Misunderstandings and a Late Present

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_XXI_**

**_x_**

_Heartilly Manor._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

Sora's eyes slowly began to open as the light from the window hit his face. Moaning, it took the man a moment to look around before he realized that he wasn't in his own room, and it took another moment for Sora to remember what had happened the night before. The party, Kairi on Materia, falling asleep in each others arms...Kairi!

Sora looked around for a second, to see there was no sign of the girl. As Sora continued looking around, he was starting to believe that he had imagined looking after Kairi. After all, with his mind, it wasn't a stretch that he had created an event where he had looked like a hero saving Kairi.

He sighed as he lied back down on the bed, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling, his thoughts all centered the birthday party, before his hands reached into his pocket, withdrawing his brand new sPhone+. At first he was confused how to turn it on, but as he tapped it, it sprung to life as the time, date, weather and notifications appeared on the screen, along with a place to put his thumb print, which Sora assumed was how to unlock the phone. Seeing that the time was just past ten, he muttered a "Happy Birthday," to himself as he heard the door to the closet slowly open.

Chuckling to himself, he said, "Sleep in the closet Ri-" before he looked up and stopped talking as his eyes widened, too shocked to even make a noise as he felt himself going blind by the second.

Riku was standing there...completely naked.

And there was only one thing Sora could say.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOUR PANTS!"

Riku turned around in a daze as he looked from left to right as he muttered, "I have no idea," Clearly it was too early for the boy to even register what was happening, but unfortunately for Sora this disturbing sight was enough to keep him awake for weeks on end.

"Oh dear Yevon get the bleach, i need to get this image out of my mind, SOMEONE GET THE BLEACH!," Sora gagged as Riku rolled his eyes, saying as he did, "It's like you've never seen a naked dude before Sora," and Sora responded with an outcry, "IT'S NOT AS IF I GO LOOKING FOR THEM RIKU!" and Riku shook his head as he muttered something that sounded like "People are trying to sleep,"

Sora turned around, trying not to throw up from a combination of last night and what he had just seen as Riku looked around his floor, before he managed to find a pair of jeans. Tightening the buckle, he muttered to Sora, "Alright, it's ok to look," and Sora turned around cautiously before breathing a sigh of relief. Half naked Riku was already plenty for the boy as he closed his eyes, before shaking his head and muttering, "You're still gonna have to send me that bottle of bleach Riku," and he smirked as he sat down, looking around as he muttered, "Hey, where's Kairi gone?"

"So i wasn't hallucinating," Sora muttered, and Riku smirked as he looked around, before something caught his eye. Picking up a piece of paper, he scanned over who it was for before he handed it to Sora. When Sora gave him a confused look, he said, "Think this was left here for you," and Sora's confusion only grew as he took the piece of paper and began to read out loud.

"Sora, we need to talk, where we had coffee last time, Kairi," He muttered, and Sora looked to his best friend, who was busy wondering how paper had gotten into his room, before he looked up at Sora, "What do you think she means," and Riku shrugged before he looked from Sora, to the note, to his bed, which clearly looked like it had been slept in by two, before he looked back at his friend as he gave a look of disgust, "Oh, Sora, in my bed? That's both disgusting and hurtful,"

Sora gave the boy a deadpan look as he threw a pillow at him, saying as he did, "Shut up Riku," and Riku caught the pillow as he smirked at the boy, before saying, "So you two didn't do the deed in my bed?" and Sora responded, "I was just looking out for her, she was a bit sick,"

"...are you gay Sora?" Riku asked slowly, and Sora took this moment to throw the second pillow at Riku, this time managing to hit him in the head, but this didn't stop the man as he said, "Cause it's ok if you are, we'll just have to stop sleeping naked in the same room,"

"Riku, this was extenuating circumstances and you know it," and Riku shrugged as he found a buttoned shirt, placing it on and rolled up the sleeves, not even bothering to button it up as he said, "Where was the last place you had coffee with her?"

Sora thought for a moment, before a small sad smile graced his lips as he muttered, "I know where she's talking about," and Sora slowly walked down into Riku's clothing store, returning with his white shirt and black jeans, making sure he had removed his phone and his WayFinder from Riku's jeans before he slipped on his biker's jacket, placing his phone in his pocket as he said, "Thanks for the party man, catch up soon?" and Riku shook Sora's hand as he said, "Hit me with a text, let me know how coffee goes," and Sora nodded his head as he made his way out of the boys room.

Sora had been in Riku's place so many times that he had no trouble navigating his way from Riku's room to the front door, and before he knew it he was walking downstairs towards the garage. As he opened the garage door using the pin code on the front which Riku had given to him to put his bike in there, he was soon jumping onto his bike and making his way down the driveway, past the opened gates, and before Sora knew it, Heartilly Manor was a speck in the distance.

Sora felt the houses dashing past him, not concentrating on any of them before he managed to find the main road, which would lead him towards Dawn. He continued driving, racing in and out of traffic, earning a few horns and flipped birds, but angry drivers didn't really bother him. He wouldn't mind messing with one of the drivers who tried to run him off the road, knowing that his Fenrir could defiantly take on most of the cars around him.

As he managed to drive into the city, Sora looked at all the grand buildings. He had been to Dawn more then a few times since he had moved to the Destiny Islands, so he had gained an extensive knowledge of the buildings and areas around, unlike the very first time he had been there, where he had relied on Kairi's and Namine's knowledge to find out where he was, but now he was well familiar to the point where he knew that three rights and two lefts before he was parking in front of the 7th Heaven. Slowly taking off his helmet, he smirked as he tucked it under his arm before he made his way into the establishment.

"Hey Sora," a voice called out, to which Sora smirked as he waved, saying as he did, "Hey Tifa, mind if I stick the helmet behind the desk,"

The woman smiled, clearly already busy but having enough time to nod her head. He smirked as he made his way behind the counter and placed the helmet on one of the lower shelves. Sora had been spending many a day both with friends and on his own at the bar, where he had made good friends with the young woman, watching as she tortured Roxas, and even had been offered many times to teach him different forms of Martial Arts, but Sora already had his meditation to force him to control Vanitas, the change from control to attacking might cause a conflict right in his mind. And then again, Vanitas already liked the attacking, the martial arts might just cause him to lose it.

As he was looking through the crowds before, Tifa looked up and smirked, before she got Sora's attention, "She's upstairs...waiting for you," and Sora gave her a smile, somehow already knowing that his favorite coffee would be there within moments of him sitting down. So not bothering to order, Sora nodded his head and slowly made his way up the stairs.

As he managed to pass through a group of people coming down the stairs, he looked around the area, before his eyes caught onto the young girl with deep auburn hair. She was busy looking at her coffee. Sora took a deep breath as he pushed his feet forward, one step after the other before he was close enough to be noticed by the young woman, who quickly looked up and stared for a moment, before she looked into her coffee once again.

Sora stayed motionless for a moment, before he slowly sat down, scratching his arm as he sighed, not sure what he should be doing, until he felt the presence of Tifa behind him, who placed a small coffee down, and gave the young boy a smile before she moved off to someone else.

Sora nodded his head as he slowly took his coffee and sipped it, feeling the burning yet satisfying beverage pass from his lips down his throat. Closing his eyes he enjoyed the taste for but a moment before he placed the cup down and turned his eyes to Kairi, sighing as she did.

Kairi took a deep breath as she began to say, "Sora...about last night," and Sora shook his head as he muttered, "Not a big deal, i promise," and Kairi gave Sora a look of both confusion and shock, not being able to summon any words before she spluttered out, "What are you talking about? i've never done anything like that before,"  
"Kairi, it happens to the best of..." Sora stopped as he remembered the conversation with her the night before, and said, "I thought you said it was your second time?"

Kairi spat out her drink as she looked shocked at the young man, her eyes now completely wide and not being able to even blink. She coughed as she said, "What the hell are you...I've never done it before ever,"

Sora was confused, why would she lie about taking Materia. He had done it before, and even ended up in hospital because of it, so why was she acting so weird about something that he had done before...unless...

"Kairi...what do you think you did?" Sora asked slowly, and Kairi coughed as she looked around, before she leaned in and whispered, "we did..._it_," Kairi moved back down as she looked in embarrassment, as if she had yelled it to everyone there instead of whispering it to Sora.

Sora coughed as he looked in complete shock. What would have given her the idea that they had had sex. Despite the fact she couldn't remember the rest of the night...and the fact that she had woken up in bed with him...even Sora realized that it sounded an aweful lot like they had had sex.

"Kairi, we didn't do it," Sora smirked, and Kairi shook her head as she said, "But we kissed, and you took me up stairs, and-"

"And you woke up with your clothing still on?" Sora smirked, and Kairi stopped herself as she held her hand up to her mouth, realizing that that was a point to what Sora had said, as she said, "So, you mean we didn't do-" Stopping again as she looked this way and that before she leaned in, "_it_,"

Sora smirked as he shook her head, and Kairi breathed out a sigh of relief, wiping her head as she muttered, "Oh thank Yevon...I mean, don't get me wrong Sora, you're alright, it's just-" Kairi began to splutter when she realized she hadn't stopped talking, but Sora shook his head with a smile as he said, "It's alright, I get what you mean,"

"Well, that's significantly opened up my day," Kairi sighed as she was able to drink her coffee without feeling worried, and Sora shook his head with a smirk stained on his face as he shrugged, "Well I've got the day free, dad doesn't get home till tonight where he wants to do some birthday surprise or something like that," and Kairi smirked as she sighed, trying to give a warming smile as she leaned against her chair.

"Gil for your thoughts?" Sora asked, and Kairi sighed as she looked towards him, saying as she did, "Probably best if i don't tell you,"  
"Well if you can't tell your psychologically disturbed friend, who can you tell?" Sora chuckled as Kairi gave him a small look, before she allowed a smile to escape as she took a drink of her coffee, saying as she did, "It's just what i'm feeling at the moment," and Sora looked around as he said, "So what are you feeling Kai?"

Kairi smirked at the nickname Sora said, and she sighed as she looked towards him, staying quite for but a few moments before she said, "When we were in Gaia, at Memories Skyscraper, and we..." Sora waited, but Kairi didn't seem to want to admit the drunken escapades that they had gotten up to while she had been intoxicated, so he continued to wait instead of finish her statement before she continued, "I was jealous of Riku, and the woman he was hooking up with, and i thought...if i couldn't be with my first choice, there was always...my second..." She muttered softly and Sora gave her a mixture of surprise, cockiness and laughter in his voice, "Second choice, thanks for that," and Sora raised his glass as he took a sip of his coffee, to which Kairi looked like she wanted to throw something at him, before he said, "Alright, time and a place, continue,"

Shaking her head, the young girl continued, "But last night, it was alcohol mainly but...for the first time, it wasn't Riku who i was thinking about...it was you," and Sora looked surprised as he slowly placed his drink on the table, giving her his full and undivided attention as he let her continue.

"I mean, something was there, i wasn't trying to get to Riku using you, i just...wanted...to kiss...you," Kairi said softly as she placed her hand down on his, feeling the cold coming from his hands.

Sora looked from her hands to her, who were looking directly at her with a smile on her face. In that moment, Sora wanted nothing more then to reach across that table and lightly kiss her, to hold her in his arms. He wanted nothing more then to be with her, and maybe before New Years, he would have done just that.

But ever since Sora had begun to suspect that Shinra was apart of Roxas' and his condition, any future that Sora saw himself with Kairi would have to wait, and may even be non-existent. He couldn't be with Kairi, not while he was constantly being watched by Shinra, or even if there was a clue that linked Sora and Roxas to the Mega-corporation.

Sora sighed as he looked towards Kairi, maybe their friendship was ready for Sora to come clean. He had already told her that he suffered from Split-personality disorder, was she ready to learn that this split-personality was manifesting as a personified hallucination calling himself Vanitas.

But the more he found himself talking about it, the more he realized that it was ridiculous to put her in the middle of it. If it was true that Shinra was apart of this, then that meant that having too many people know about their situation would put them even more at risk. Sora knew that if he asked her not to, she wouldn't tell anyone, but nevertheless even letting Kairi into their situation would be dangerous.

So looking back up at the girl, Sora smirked as he moved his hands out from Kairi and on top of hers, and giving him a curious look, Kairi listened as Sora said, "One day Kai, one day i'd love to...but not today, theres just too much going on in my life to...kiss...you," Sora used the word kiss as a symbolism for life together with the young girl, he sighed as Kairi looked disappointed, but nonetheless she gave the young man a small smirk as she said, "Well, I'm still going to try," as she got up, and Sora laughed as he watched Kairi walk over to him and softly give him a kiss on his cheek. He smirked as he watched the young woman walking away, for a moment almost convinced that she was swaying her hips to and fro in order to give Sora a little show, before he shook his head, cursed his male hormones and finished his coffee, sighing as he leaned back and wondered what he was going to do for the rest of his day, before he smirked and said to himself, "AVALANCHE Marathon at the movies it is,"

**_x_**

_Gainsborough Household_

_Destiny Islands_

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The streets were extremely quite for a Saturday, most families were spending their day inside, cars were nicely parked inside their driveways, a group of kids were playing on their lawn, passing a ball amongst each other. But they had to stop when they watched a very fine limousine making its way down the street, driving until it reached a house up the end.

The driver door opening up, a man dressed in a well kept suit managed to get out and made his way to the passenger door, opening it up and waiting. Very slowly and carefully, a blonde haired man got out, having to push himself out of the car, his hands quickly returning to his head as the bright light hit his eyes. Groaning, he nodded his head towards the driver, thanking him as the driver nodded his head, before Roxas made his way towards the house, listening as the driver got back in the car, and as he slowly turned around, seeing the car make its way down the street and out of sight.

Shaking his head, he felt himself stumble a tiny bit, but the presence of Ventus placing his imaginary hand on his back felt somewhat comforting to the man. Roxas looked behind his shoulder as he smirked, "You know if you can relieve some of this headache off me that would be great," and Ventus chuckled at the young boy, saying as he did, "And where would you learn the lesson Rox?"

Roxas looked over to the imaginary man, and Ventus shook his head as suddenly Roxas felt the weight of his head slowly lift, as he looked to his head as he muttered, "There was something scientific and biological behind that wasn't there," and Ventus shrugged as he responded, "Could have been Magic?"

Roxas laughed as he nodded his head, not only seeing but feeling the boy disappear as he muttered, "Could have been Magic," and with that he opened the door and entered the house.

Already hearing his mother walking towards him, he called out slowly, "Hey mum," and was greeted by a hug, kiss and a "Happy Birthday," as he thanked his mother, he sighed as he removed his jacket and placed it on the back of the seat as he say down, sighing as his mother pushed a small package into his hands, looking at her as he said, "What's this?"

Aerith smiled at her son as she said not a word, waiting for him to finally open the package. Roxas grinned as he slowly ripped off the wrapping as his eyes glazed on a brand new sPhone+. Looking up, he hugged his mother as he muttered into her ear, "Thank you," and sat down as he slowly began to tear the plastic off the box, before he stopped, running a thumb over the box, noticing the ShinraCorp insignia staring at him, as his mind returned to the conversation he had had with Sora the day before, remembering that he had something to ask his mother.

Clearing his throat, he placed the box down as he looked at his mother for a moment, before he slowly said, "...Mum, can i ask you something?" and Roxas watched as his mother gave him a quizzical look as to why he had suddenly stopped opening up his new phone, before she nodded her head, "What's on your mind Rox?"

Roxas took a deep breath, before he looked towards her, saying as she did, "What do you know about Jenova?" and Aerith looked at her son, shaking her head as she said, "Sora asked that same question a few weeks ago now, why do you want to know?"

"Curiosity," Roxas said instantly, taking a breath before he continued, "Me and Sora are doing some research on it for Science," Using the same line as he had on Axel, hoping that his mothers ignorance on his classmates in science would allow him to get away with the question.

Seeing that she had bought it, she gave the boy a smile as she said, "What would you like to know?" and Roxas took a moment, trying to phase his next question carefully so he could at least get something useful after it. Finding the right words, he responded, "Well, we know that Jenova landed near Hallow Bastion, we wanna know if Shinra had anything to do with it?"

For a moment Aerith looked like she wanted to change the subject, but something inside her made her think twice. Maybe it was because it was her sons birthday, and she was feeling generous to release the information, but she smiled as she looked at her son, saying as she did, "Before I tell you anything, I want to make it clear that none of this has any proof behind it, I was working in Bio-engineering when this happened, so all i heard were office rumors, understand?" and Roxas nodded his head as Aerith stretched a little so she was sitting comfortably before she continued.

"Well, when Jenova landed in the shores of Hallow Bastion, before it was a Mental Institution, it was a laboratory where Shinra was testing some of its more...dangerous weapons...for the Gaian government," Roxas was surprised by this statement,it was general knowledge that Shinra had been in weapons development for a while, and had been contracted to the Guardian Corps for years, but he never knew that they were creating new weapons for the group. Nevertheless, Roxas pushed it out of his mind as he allowed his mother to continue.

"Well, a few weeks after Jenova hit, many of the people there were reassigned to other Weapons factories under Shinra for no reason. Thats when the rumors started spreading," Aerith sighed, and Roxas looked more intrigued then ever now, "What do you mean?"

Aerith took a deep breath as she began, "Well, the official report stated that with the Meteorite so close, they had to evacuate the area. Some believed that the Meteor carried nuclear-like fumes, while some believed that it was the first of many to arrive, and that they would all be striking near the area...but the one i heard most was that Shinra had ordered a team to retrieve the Meteor and it was being researched at Hallow Bastion,"

Roxas leaned back as his eyes widened in disbelief. So Shinra had been apart of Jenova, or at least had retrieved it. But although this answered whether the corporation had been involved, it opened up even more questions. Why had Shinra taken the Meteor? How were Sora and Himself connected, and if they had the meteor, where was it now? Surely it couldn't still be at Hallow Bastion, it was a mental institution now, someone would have definitely seen a giant rock lying around.

Aerith sighed as she walked over to her son and gave him a kiss on his head, answering his question before he even had a chance to utter the first word, "That's all I know sweetheart," and left the young boy in his chair as she made her way up the stairs. Roxas shook his head as he leaned against his chair, wondering what to do next, before he realized that he still had his gift to open yet.

It took a short matter of minutes before he had managed to set up his new phone, complete with contacts and music. He was about to make his way towards his room when Aerith called from up the stairs, "Oh, i almost forgot, a letter came for you,"

Not realizing that people still used mail as a form of communication, he walked over to the kitchen, which Roxas was already aware was a favored place for her to place the local mail. Sorting through it, he found the letter addressed to him, but when he saw who it was from, his heart almost skipped a beat.

The same logo that was on the box of his new phone stared back at him from the letter.

But what would ShinraCorp want with him? Roxas slowly opened the envelope, as he reached in and pulled out the letter, another piece of paper fell out. Roxas bent down, and saw that it was a ticket, which was for a first class flight from the Destiny Islands. Before he read any more, he returned back to the letter that was in his hands. Scanning it, his eyes widened as he yelled out, "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Honey? Everything ok?" and Roxas realized he had said it out loud as he yelled out "Fine mum, But you'll never guess-" Roxas was cut off as he felt his brand new phone vibrate. Curious, he reached over, and saw that it was an instant message from Recoded.

**_Recoded Message from [Sora Strife] - _**_Dark Margin. Now._

Roxas sighed as he heard his mother call out, "Never guess what honey?" and Roxas shook his head as he said, "I'll tell you later, gotta meet Sora for something," before he made his way out of the door.

Roxas didn't have to walk very far before he reached the beach. One good thing about where he was was that he was never too far from the water, sand and outdoor company of other beach goers. But today, it seemed rather empty then it would have been. Though Roxas guessed that was mainly due to the fact that there was heavy rainclouds heading their way. Roxas was starting to wish he had taken his jacket with him as he rubbed his arms, hearing the sound of a familiar motorcycle making its way towards him. Turning around, he saw Sora get off the bike, taking note of the fact that he hadn't bothered to put on his helmet as he walked towards the young man, holding up a letter as he did.

The blonde didn't even have to ask what he was holding, having already guessed on his walk towards the beach that Sora might have gotten one, as he said, "So, you got one too,"

Sora straightened up the paper as he read, "ShinraEducation is pleased to inform you that you have won a week long getaway due to your continued studying at Twilight Heights High and your high presence record," before the brunette looked towards the blonde, the latter saying, "So what made you think it's a setup?" and Sora smirked as he held the letter up, saying as he did, "High presence record? I'm pretty sure i've skipped almost half of my classes," to which Roxas smirked as he said, "So you won't be falling into their trap then?" but was surprised when Sora shook his head, saying as he did, "Oh don't worry, I'll be there,"

"What? But if it's a..." Roxas was cut off as Sora responded to the blonde's unfinished argument, "Roxas, clearly they want us there instead of somewhere else like Hallow Bastion, if theres a hint of whatever is wrong with us there, then i'm going to sneak in there to find out...I just wish I knew how they knew we were the two," Roxas began to nod his head when suddenly he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, picking it up as he unlocked it before saying, "I don't think they know exactly," and before Sora got a chance to ask how Roxas knew, Roxas showed his phone to the young man, and the few messages that were on it.

**_Text Message from Axel:  
_**_Dude, i just got a week getaway, and you'll never guess where!_

**_Text Message from Namine:  
_**_ShinraEducation is sending me away for a week, and it's at an amazing place =)_

**_Text Message from Xion:  
_**_See you losers in a week, i'm going to relax at the number one getaway spot on the planet xP_

Sora felt his own phone vibrate, and as he reached in, saw that the messages were from Riku and Kairi, both telling him the exact same things that the others had told Roxas. Sora looked from his phone to Roxas as he sighed in frustration, Roxas saying as he did, "Looks like your plans are getting interrupted a bit,"

"There's nothing else I can do Rox, this might be the only chance I have to find out what is wrong with me," Sora sighed as he walked over to his bike, but not before he stopped, saying, "We'll talk later, right now i've gotta pack for Monday," and Roxas nodded as he shook the man's hand, before he bade a goodbye to the boy.

"I'll see you at the Midgar Resort,"

**_x_**

**Wow this is a week late, IM SO SORRY GUYS! Feel free to hunt me down with torches and pitchforks, i have no excuse for my non-responce...except that I started Uni and all...but what kind of excuse is that right!**

**This chapter was a little short, actually alot of them have been recently, but have no fear, the next chapter should be a fairly large one. In fact, it might be so big that i might even put it in 2 parts. But don't hold me to that, i might be kind and put it in one part =P**

**Once again you lovely people are the reason i do this, if it wasn't for you guys this idea would lay to rot in several different books that hold all the ideas in my mind, cause let's face it, if this idea stayed in my head, i might actually die from explosion...or a tumor, one or the other. A awesome super special thanks to **EthanFlux, Lenchkumaximus, Stepfanny, Fluoricia, R. Recollect, Keyblades of Oblivion **(im so sorry i havn't had time to get onto your story, i shall try to read it as soon as i can and give you a lovely review), **Guest, DestinyKeyblader28, Getsuga TENSHOU 15, soushin5, lion5589, baileymermaid95, Random Reader 17, kheroxasoray and ChristianLynch. **I don't know what i did to deserve such a bunch of sexy reviewers, but you're all just wonderfully awesome and you keep me from losing my mind some days with your reviews. So if you wanna save Jared Someone's creative brain, Review like these good lookin' people.**

**Due to Uni and work im not sure when i shall update next, id love to say check your mail tomorrow cause it'll be there, but unfortunately im not that good...I wish i was, but sadly im only human. BUT if you would like a quick update, one sure way is to remind me that there are lovely people out there who wanna know what happens next, and how do we do that you may ask? Well it's simple. Review! Subscribe! let me know you're out there and don't wanna wait long for another chapter, and ill always try to fit you guys in amongst crazy uni/work.**

**Until the next time (Hopefully in the not too distant future) stay beautiful.**

**Jared Someone.**


	23. One Hell of a Vacation: Part I

**_J _**_enova _

**_x_**

**_XXII_**

**_x_**

_Sector II (Southern Entrance)_

_Midgar Resort._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The sun had been up for no more then an hour, and yet the gorgeous Midgar Resort shone from the light. All over the area, guests were waking up, staff were ensuring that their guests were one hundred percent happy. But as the guests and staff all began their morning, there was more going on then relaxation at the Resort.

As the staff began their daily routine of preparing breakfast, ensuring the Sector's were ready to be walked around by the guests, several of the staff looked up as they saw in the distance a helicopter making its way towards the islands. Most of the workers and guests returned back to their daily life, taking no note on the fact that a Shinra Helicopter was en route to the Resort.

The Helicopter past over the Northern Entrance, which was the main point for Boats and Planes to bring paying customers to the Resort. But the Helicopter was not carrying a guest to the resort, but rather an employee of ShinraCorp, hence why the Helicopter was heading towards the Southern Entrance of Sector II, an off limits area to guests.

As the Helicopter made its way to the heli-pad, the doors of the rather large building opened up, a man with short brown hair, Blue eyes and lightly tanned skin, who was dressed in a suit, with an earpiece and glasses walked out, straightening his tie as his eyes gazed over the Helicopter finally land on the pad. The man watched as the rotors slowed down, as the black door opened up, and Aqua Villiers stepped out, dressed in a short dark purple skirt, dark blue blouse and a long white lab-coat, looking around before her eyes met with the young man before her, before she was handed her briefcase and made her way towards the man, saying as she did, "Been a long time,"

The man looked around before saying, "I was just starting out and you were a junior in Jenova," and Aqua allowed her smile to grow as she dropped her briefcase and hugged the man, saying as she did, "Good to see you Terra,"

"And you Aqua, or should I say, Dr. Villiers," the man named Terra allowed a small smile to escape his lips, before he gave a small cough and Aqua slowly withdrew herself, smiling as she said, "So, Head of Security at Midgar Resort, very impressive,"

Terra chuckled as he said, "I know, though it's not as impressive as my dad," and Aqua lightly punched the man in his shoulder, saying as she did, "Well, we can't all be Presidential Chancellor of Gaia," and Terra shook his head as another young man exited the building, bounding up the stairs as she walked up to Terra, and whispered something into his ear. Nodding his head lightly, he said, "Send her bag to her office," and the man nodded as he picked up the briefcase and made his way back to his building. Terra slowly outstretched his hand towards the building, before Aqua nodded her head and made her way into the building.

The interior was white, with a few doors leading towards laboratories, others leading to interrogation rooms, and some leading to office areas and even meeting rooms. Aqua continued walking down the hall, as if she knew exactly where she was going, as she said to Terra in a formal tone, "So what do you know?"

"I know this has to do with Jenova, and I am to assist you in any way I can," Terra responded, and Aqua nodded her head as she turned a corner, feeling a vibration in her pocket as she withdrew her phone, seeing that someone texted her. Looking at the message for a moment, she typed something in and placed her phone back into her pocket, muttering as she did, "Shinra won't let me have a moment to myself,"

"How ironic, this place is all about getting a moment to yourself," Terra smirked as Aqua rolled her eyes, saying as she did, "I think this is as close to 'vacation time' as i'll ever get," and Terra laughed as they turned down one of the halls, where each door had a card lock to it.

Approaching one of the doors at the far end, Terra removed a black card from his breast pocket, handing it to Aqua, saying, "This should get you into this door, and most of the doors around here," and Aqua nodded her head as she took the black card from his hand, swiping it against the door as she watched the red light flash green, a Metallic click heard before Aqua opened the door and entered, followed by Terra.

The room was rather large, a desk in the back with a Shinra Computer and Touch-Keyboard, a Shinra TechTable, the latest one available on the right hand side of the office, a Window overlooking the beach area, and a Plasma television in the corner, which Aqua had a perfect view from her Desk. Her bag was sitting on the table, and Aqua smirked as she walked over, taking out her laptop and placing it on the desk next to her computer. Opening it up, she removed her glasses from her pocket and placed them on as she began typing something in, saying as she did, "When are the suspected subject's due to arrive?"

Terra took out his phone as he typed something in, before saying, "Their plane left Dark Margin Airport 2 hours ago, so estimated time of arrival 10 minutes," and Aqua nodded her head as she got up from her desk and walked over towards the TechTable, typing something on the table as a picture of a blonde haired man with spiky bangs appeared, the name _'Roxas Gainsborough' _under it, "We have reason to believe this young man is one of the two subjects of Project: Jenova, and based on a conversation he had with one of friends, and using previous footage, we believe that one of these people could in fact be the other subject," Aqua typed something in, and six more photos appeared, each with the names _'Lea Valentine', 'Namine Lockhart', 'Riku Leonhart', 'Kairi Farron', 'Sora Strife' _and _'Xion Wise' _

"You don't know if they were male or female?" Terra asked, and Aqua nodded as she said, "All records of Project Jenova were destroyed in 1994 after the WRO began an internal investigation into Shinra's Projects and Programs, all we had was one thing...a birth date of one of the Subjects, which we had a large list for, was shortened when we found it matched this boy," Aqua pointed to Roxas, and Terra looked at her strangely, saying as she did, "From what i remembered about it, weren't they both the same age? Couldn't you just find another kid with the same birth date" and Aqua shrugged as she said, "We had no physical evidence to suggest they were born on the same day, a week apart, or even months apart, all we knew was that they had been taken on the same day, and Gaian Hospitals keep children for a maximum of six months before sending them off to orphanages and foster homes," She walked back as she looked at her phone, stating as she did, "You better get going, their plane will be arriving shortly, just remember, they're there under a ShinraEducation Sponsorship, and nothing else," and Terra nodded his head as he made his way towards the door, before he stopped at the door, saying as he did, "Do you think you'll have to interrogate him,"

Aqua sighed as she stopped typing, taking a moment to answer before she took off her glasses and looked out the window, saying as she did, "I hope it won't have to come to that," and Terra nodded his head as he closed the door, leaving Aqua to look out the window, placing her glasses back on as she muttered to herself, "I really do hope it won't come to that,"

**_x_**

_Sector II (Northern Entrance)._

_Midgar Resort._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The first jet of the day appeared in the distance, the sun shining off the jet as the airline staff looked over their stats from their TechTable. The black glass shone as one of the men typed something on the board, before he touched his ear piece, saying as he did, "Shera I, you are clear for landing," and a response was heard as they watched the plane in the distance turn before making its way down to the runway. One of the chief staff withdrew a phone from his pocket and called a number as he watched the wheels of Shera I hit the runway, saying as he did, "Mr Eraqus, Shera I has landed," to which the man on the other end replied, "Im on my way now, thank you," and hung up.

As the plane finally came to a stop, 4 staff members, dressed like all other members in white short sleeve shirts, white pants and matching shoes made their way towards the plane on a small vehicle, with one driving and the other three ridding on the back. As the plane stopped, and final checking was complete, the door opened up revealing a staircase. A short brown haired man dressed in a fine suit made his way down the pathway, passing by the complete grassland as his shoes echoed on the concrete as he checked his watch and adjusted his tie, making sure his sunglasses wouldn't fall off as he watched the first of the guests make their way off the plane.

Axel stretched as he took a deep breath, before smiling as she picked up his duffle bag and bounded down the stairs, turning around as he said, "Get out here you lot!" and grinned as Roxas' head appeared from beyond the door, saying as he did, "We are, not all of us were standing at the door waiting for it to open," and Axel chuckled as he watched Roxas swing his bag over his shoulder and made his way down the steps, looking over his shoulder as he watched Roxas make his way down the stairs with a bag swung around his shoulder. As he reached the bottom step he turned around and extended his hand, looking up at the young blonde with her small bag, who smiled as she graciously took his hand and stepped down the last few steps. The two lingered as a smile spread across both their lips, before a cough was heard from aboard the plane, and both released hands as they both turned red, looking up as Riku leaned against the door with a smirk on his face, waiting for the two to move away before he shook his head and took his bag he began walking down the stairs, before he heard the sound of someone struggling, and turned around as he chuckled at the short dark haired woman, saying as he did, "How is it for someone who self proclaims they are not the stereotypical rich girl, you still manage to bring several bags with you,"

"I have a lot of stuff," Xion huffed as she struggled to pick up one of the heavier looking bags. Riku watched the girl suffer for a few moments, before he gave in and walked back up the stairs, taking hold of two of the bags with far less effort then it took Xion, who thanked Riku before they both made their way down the stairs.  
"Come on Sora, you have to see this view," The voice of Kairi was heard as she bounded down the stairs, looking out of the grassy area before she turned around, starring back up at Sora, who was looking from the top of the stairs with a mixture of impressed and worry on his face. Giving a somewhat reassuring smile, Sora took his time walking down the steps slowly with his bag over his shoulder, before he smiled at the young girl, "I suppose this will be a good place to relax for a week,"

"Might be the last chance we have to relax," Kairi smirked, and Sora chuckled as he nodded his head, before he looked around, saying as he did, "So, where are we suppose to go?"

"I think I know," Riku answered as he picked up his own and Xion's bags, and began walking towards the small vehicle and the man dressed in the sharp suit, followed by the others. Instantly, the staff got out of their vehicle, and made their way towards the guests, where they offered to take their bags, and within minutes, the small vehicle was packed with their bags and was making its way off into the distance.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, Don't worry about your belongings, they will be waiting in your respective rooms when you arrive, first thing is to give you the tour, my name is Terra Eraqus, Head of Security here at the Midgar Resort,"

"Hold on, Eraqus? As in Presidential Chancellor Nixe Eraqus?" Xion piped up, to which Terra nodded his head as he said, "Yes, he is my father," and the others made a noise that was mixed with awe and confusion as to why the son of the President of Gaia was working as Security for the Midgar Resort.

"Before any of you ask, Politic's were never my thing, and to make a long story short i'm gracious to be working at the Resort," Terra responded in a 'that's final' sort of way, before another vehicle that looked like a small tour bus came bounding down the pathway, stopping just in front of the group, who all boarded quickly before the bus drove away.

"Now for those of you who are unaware of the History here, the Midgar Resort was founded in the early 2000's as a getaway hotspot designed by ShinraCorp. The island was previously owned by former CEO Rufus Shinra I as a large holiday home, but after his passing, Rufus Jr. saw this place as a perfect getaway that shouldn't be kept from the public, so after putting tens of millions of Munny into this place, the Midgar Resort became the number one getaway on the planet,"

The others wow'ed as Sora kept his head towards the window, looking at the trees and luscious grass around them, taking note of the distance where other islands were, and wondering whether they were connected to the Resort as well.

As if reading his mind, Terra continued, "Now the Resort is split up into five different Sectors, where we just came from was Sector II, which is the airport and harbor. Every week, planes and boats bring in hundreds upon hundreds of guests over the air and the sea, of course none of them were brought in the style you were, but within the next Couple of hours we should see them being brought in,"

"I doubt none of them will be shown around by the head of Security as well," Riku laughed, and Terra allowed a small smirk to grace his lips briefly as he said, "Quite," But Riku's comment only made Sora more suspicious, wondering why the head of Security would need to show the kids around. He pushed it away as Terra continued to talk.

"Sector I Is the hotel, forty stories high, twenty rooms on each floor, each room has a comfortable kind size bed, minibar and plasma television which you would come to expect from most hotels, what separates the Midgar Resort from other hotels is that each room has been supplied with Prototype "BlackGlass" Technology to replace windows, mirrors and even dining room and kitchen tables,"

"BlackGlass Technology?" Sora asked, and Terra nodded his head as he said, "BlackGlass is a new line ShinraCorp has been working on to mix the latest in touchscreen technology with everyday household areas such as Tables, windows, mirrors and even the technology you have in your room, i'll let you discover them when you get up there, but it is a 'sneak peak' if you like of what almost all homes will have within the next ten-fifteen years, BlackGlass will replace the "ClearGlass" Technology used on Shinra's PlusDevices such as their sPhone+ and sTab+ sometime next year," Terra smirked as Sora nodded his head, Shinra was all about the future he supposed, and their innovations in the latest in technology always made Sora feel like he was in some Science Fiction movie. But then again, this was the future right?

"Sector III is the local village, there ShinraCorp has worked with several companies including HeartillyFashion, CommBoard Entertainment and many other companies to sell you the latest products, watch the newest movies and give you that old Mall feeling, all the while using the latest in ShinraTechnology to give you fast and elegant service," Terra smirked as he looked at the awe in the guests faces, knowing that there would be a much bigger reaction when they actually experienced it for themselves.

"Sector IV is the Midgar Resorts world famous mini water park, which include pools, saunas and spa's built for relaxation and pleasure. Sector IV also includes Massages at extra cost to guarantee optimum relaxation for any sore muscle you might have. But the pride and joy of Sector IV is our Atlantis Castle,"

While Sora and Axel shared looks of confusion, Roxas, Namine, Kairi, Riku and Xion all gave looks of excitement at the idea of this Atlantis Castle. Clearly they had read up on whatever it was, and in Riku and Xion's case, actually been there before. Terra smirked as he explained to the two confused males, "Atlantis Castle is a giant tower with different water slides on each level, but the top slide is what most people go for. Again, i'll let you discover what it is all about," and with a wink, he continued on with his tour.

"Finally, Sector V is our Park and Beach area, for those of you who enjoy the walk outside, the Midgar Resort has a fine park area where people can play sports, relax and even enjoy a picnic. And our beach area is considered to rival those on the Destiny Islands, which have been widely popular. For those of you 18 and over, we do have a bonfire night out on saturday nights, where many other young adults can meet and enjoy each others company while being safety looked after by our fine security staff,"

"Does that include yourself?" Xion asked in a flirtatious manner, and for the first time Sora took note of the fact that the three ladies there were a little impressed with Terra. Sora felt the jealousy grow inside of him, but he shook it out as Terra laughed, saying as he did, "I make sure that all of our guests are safe while staying here,"

"But what if i'm in trouble, will you rescue me?" Xion asked with a wink, and Terra straightened his tie as he quickly changed the subject, "And here we are, Sector I," and everyone stared out the window in awe.

It was even grander then the Memories Skyscraper. Sora noticed that each window was tinted black, this must have been the BlackGlass that Terra had been talking about before. Even the entrance doors were tainted black. If the outside wasn't glass, then it was black brick as well, and looked rather sturdy. As the doors opened, everyone slowly got out as they noticed the sliding doors, where some guests were already making their way out of the hotel. Terra closed the door as the last person got out, saying as he did, "Hotel service have been made aware of your arrival, each of you will receive a package containing a black card key, please keep this on you as it will be your identification as well as access to most of the sectors, your rooms and the elevators, I hope you all enjoy your stay here," Terra nodded his head, and he made his way into the hotel.

Sora studied the building as he admired the structure, before he heard his name being called out, and noticed that everyone had already made their way inside of the building. He placed his hands into his pocket as he made his way through the sliding doors, looking around in awe as he entered the hotel lobby.

The entire place looked perfectly in order. There were several coffee tables and comfortable chairs to the left and right, where some people were sitting down tapping or typing something on the coffee tables. Sora continued walking as he saw the lift and the staircase, and even doors leading to dining rooms, conference rooms, media rooms and even entertainment areas. As they made their way to the front, Riku couldn't help but comment, "Always made me think this must be what Radiant Garden is like...without the gambling of course,"

"Ahh, you must be the Kid's from the ShinraEducation program," someone called out, and Sora turned to see a tall man with black hair and a matching goatee looking towards them, a friendly smile on his face as he introduced himself, "Reeve Tuesti, Head Manager here at Sector I, i've been instructed to hand you these," the man withdrew from his pocket several thin envelopes, each with names written in fine cursive handwriting. One by one he called out the names, the respective person taking their letter. Sora took the letter as he nodded his head and let out a small work of thanks, before Reeve smiled as he said, "All of you have been placed on the 39th floor, you should all have a wonderful view of the Village from there, if there is any problems we are happy to be of assistance, we do hope you enjoy your stay," and everyone thanked Reeve in unison as they made their way towards the elevators, taking note that a card was needed to gain entrance. Riku broke open his envelope as he took out a thin black card, swiping it as the doors instantly opened. Everyone walked in, impressed that there was enough space in the large elevator for the seven of them to be comfortable. Roxas was the one who hit the 39th floor, and in less then twenty seconds a cool female voice said '39th Floor'. Sora could only assume this was the work of the AI AERIS, which now that he thought about sounded almost exactly like Roxas' mother, aside from sounding a tiny bit digital.

"How does it feel to hear your mother Rox?" Sora whispered, having told Roxas he had heard the story from his mother before, Roxas shook his head as he said, "Still creeps the living hell out of me, the minute they put her voice in the phones i'm gonna be paranoid for life," and the two chortled as Riku looked towards one of the doors, saying as he did, "Well, this is my room, see you guys later," and swiping his card, he entered his room.

Sora opened up his envelope as he took out the thin black card which had indented into it '_Floor 39, Room IX'_. Finding the matching door, he bade goodbye to the others, and swiped his card before entering.

As Sora closed the door, he looked around, and was clearly impressed. The room looked like a small apartment room shared by four then his own personal room. True to Terra's work, the Windows, Mirrors, even the coffee table and kitchen bench all were made of a black glass material. The Plasma TV was in the corner, but Sora found no sign of any remote. There were a bunch of comfortable chairs around the coffee table, and the entire wall was a screen door which Sora assumed opened up to a balcony, which he would have liked to confirm had the black glass block his view. Sora made his way into his room, where another TV was in the corner, along with a walk in closet, a king size bed, and his bag full of clothing. Sora saw that there was a TV remove about the size of a small sTab+, this one made entirely of black glass.

Sora ignored it as he reached into his pocket, taking out his phone before he reached into his back pocket and took out his lock-picks from his back pocket. Looking at them, he smirked as he tried to remember the last time he had used them. Back when he was living in Gaia, there wasn't a day that went by that he wasn't trying to get into locked rooms, hence why he had become an expert at it. But then again, he hadn't had a lot of friends when he was in Gaia, and Sora smirked as he realized that his friends, whether they knew it or not, were making an honest man out of him.

Sora made his way back into the living room, where he walked slowly towards the sliding door. Looking for a handle, he instantly placed his hand upon the glass. Instantaneously the words '_Welcome guest No. 67' _ appeared at eye level on a small portion of the glass. But Sora didn't have to wait too long before the words 'No. 67' were replaced with 'Sora Strife'. Sora assumed that they had used his thumbprint to identify him like his sPhone+ had, but had no time to notice as a short list suddenly appeared to the right of where he had touched, which showed several settings including general, Map, calendar, Internet, call, Midgar Resort and settings.

Pressing Settings, a long list of personal set-up options appeared, amongst them controls for the blinds. Sora hesitated for a moment before he pressed 'off' on the blinds setting, the black glass instantly turning clear as his mouth slowly dropped in awe. He shook his head as he went through settings again, this time pressing the 'open' button, and a section opened up at the side, allowing Sora to walk out onto the balcony.

To say the view was a spectacular sight would be an understatement. They were so high up that not only could Sora see the village before him, but he could also see off into the distance where the water reached out as far as the eye could see. It was only morning so the sun was behind him, but from what he could see it looked like the sunset later that day would be even more breathtaking then the view before him. Sora closed his eyes as he felt the breeze go through his hair, everything around him looked so magnificent, so spectacular.

So expensive.

Taking a moment to think, Sora walked back inside where he walked to the coffee table, he noticed that the menu was the same as for the sliding doors. Pressing on internet, a small box opened up with the home page of the Midgar Resort. Pinching the box so it was a tiny bit larger, Sora began typing on the keyboard that appeared just under it. He searched, typed and scrolled as his eyes looked over the page, before he said, "I knew it,"

A knock on the door caused Sora to look up, as he pressed down on the table with the palm of his hand by accident, causing the box to disappear and to look like a normal coffee table. Glad that he had accidentally found the hide feature of the BlackGlass coffee table, he got up and walked to the door, where he looked through the keyhole before smirking.

"What's up Roxas?" Sora invited the young man in as he said, "Sora, have you tried that BlackGlass technology yet?" Before looking at the clear sight before him and chuckled, "Guess that answers my question,"

"Glad you're here Rox, I wanna show you something," and Sora walked over towards the table, tapping on the glass as his previously hidden webpage sprang to life. Roxas was confused as Sora highlighted a portion and showed it to Roxas, as he began reading.  
"'All up this heavenly package deal comes to a measly 200,000M, a small price to pay for such a grand getaway' 200 Grand is considered a small amount? Yevon above sometimes i wonder what the rich consider great,"

"They consider it the same as us, that's how they stay rich, but look at it," Sora pointed out, and Roxas rose his eyebrow as he said, "I'm not sure I know what i'm suppose to be looking at here man,"

"The private jet, skyline view, access to all sectors, unlimited room service and BlackGlass use? that's all were getting, the difference is we're not paying 200 grand for it," Sora muttered, and Roxas nodded his head slowly as he said, "So you wanna know why they would spent almost a million on a bunch of school kids?"

"There has got to be more to it then some Education plan," Sora muttered, and Roxas shrugged as he said, "But nothing looks sus, there isn't some secret lab around here, or at least not that i can think of,"

Sora smirked as he said, "I took a look at the map as well," and Sora motioned over to the sliding door, which he turned back to black glass instantly as he pulled up the map of the island, before he fit it to the entire window wall, and circled a post just past the hotel, "This area here is labeled 'Security area', but look, it's almost as long as the entire hotel, and who knows how many levels it goes down, also here-" Sora circled a small area with a 'H' indicating a Heli-pad, "Why would you put a Heli-pad near the security area?"

"I dunno, VIP guests?" and Sora scoffed as he said, "No, it has to be more then that," and Roxas sighed as he shook his head, saying, "That's a pretty big ask Sora, i mean why hasn't anyone else pointed this out before?"

"Cause look at this place Rox, It looks like something out of a Sci Fi show, everyones so blinded by the BlackGlass and the village and the water area that no one would think to wonder why there would be something suspicious there, the only difference is i'm looking for something sus,"

Roxas sighed as he looked back towards the map, before saying, "So what's the plan," but was cut off as a ringing sound was heard coming from the table. Both the boys looked towards the coffee table, Sora muttering as he walked towards it, "I'll give you a fiver if you can tell me where the sound is coming from," as he saw a small box with the words 'Floor 39, room XVI', 'Accept' and 'Decline'. Sora looked towards Roxas, who shrugged, before he pressed the 'accept' button, and instantly a window opened up, with Riku and Axel looking back towards them, yelling out, "Hey guys!"

"Make that a ten if you tell me where the camera is," Sora muttered as Roxas waved at them. Riku and Axel yelled out, "How awesome is this place?"

"How the heck are you hearing and seeing us?" Sora muttered as he tried to look for a camera, but Riku was the one who answered him, "It uses your reflection mirrored to get the picture and speakers and mic are embedded into the thin layer of the coffee table, so awesome,"  
"Awesome is one word, crazy is another," Roxas muttered, and Sora nodded as he said, "So what's up guys?" and Riku responded as he said, "The ladies wanna check out the village, bus leaves in 20, wanna join?" and Sora and Roxas looked at each other before saying, "Yeah, see you there," and a cheer of happiness sounded from the two before they ended the call.

"50 Munny says Axel's already broken the mini bar seal," Roxas muttered, and Sora scoffed as he said, "I wouldn't be surprised if they had brought their own," and the two laughed as Sora made his way towards his bedroom to start putting his clothing away.

It wasn't too long before Sora had placed his shirts and jeans away. Stuffing his bag underneath the bed, he ran a hand through his hair before picking up his phone and stuffing his lock-picks in the drawer before walking out, where Roxas was waiting. Making sure that he had his wallet on him, Sora and Roxas exited the room, where they made their way to the elevator, Roxas having gotten a text telling them to meet them downstairs in the lobby.

As the elevator lead them downstairs, Sora sighed as he looked at his phone, looking at the text he had received from his father hoping he had arrived safely, Sora gave Cloud a half answered response saying he was fine and he would call that night. As the doors opened, Sora and Roxas both stepped out, looking around as they noticed more people walking in and out of the hotel lobby, the guests that they would be sharing the island with for the next week or so.

A call caused the two boys to look towards Riku, Kairi, Namine and Xion, who ran up to the two as they all exclaimed, "Isn't this place awesome!" and the two laughed as they nodded their heads, looking around as Sora muttered, "This place is rather spectacular,"

"Where's Axel?" Roxas asked as he looked around, and Riku chuckled as he pointed to the fire red head as he was talking to two young ladies. Roxas and Sora both folded their arms as the six looked towards him, as both laughed and giggled, before taking out a pen, and writing on his arm what Sora could only assume were their numbers. As both made their way towards the elevator, they gave him a wink as Axel smirked in success, before making his way towards the group, holding out his hand as he said, "Guess whose getting laid with two Spiran's tonight,"

The three girls rolled their eyes as they muttered, "Pig," while Riku high-fived the man for his 'game'. Sora turned to Roxas as he muttered, "Do you have the feeling Axel's gonna be chased off the island by all the women he's gonna piss off this week," and the two laughed as the four men made their way out of the hotel.

The seven didn't have to wait too long before the bus made its way towards them. It was approximately double the size as the one that they had taken to get to Sector I, and was easily able to fit more then a dozen people comfortably. Since many of the guests were getting settled into their hotel room, there was only a couple other people who were boarding the bus along with the group. Easily they were the most loudest, with constant laughter, talking and enjoyment, the group didn't have to wait long before they made it to the Sector I harbor, which would easily take them to wherever they needed to go, in their case Sector III.

The harbor was comfortably roomy, with a waiting area with seats and a small snack bar, there were three gates, each with a shiny III, IV and V to tell people which boat went to which Sector. Walking towards Gate III, each of them swiped their black cards, which allowed entrance through the turnstile. Waiting for their boat, the gang talked about their good luck and fortune that they would be able to spend a week at the luscious Midgar Resort, and while Sora tried to share in the interest, his personal views about the whole thing being a trap could not hide itself from his face. Shaking his head, he mustered a smile when Kairi asked if he was feeling around, and muttered something about nerves. Thankfully, he didn't have to try to chance the subject as he saw one of the boats making its way into the harbor.  
The boat wasn't particularly big, and yet Sora estimated that it could have easily fit thirty to fifty people onto it. As the small groups began making its way on board, Sora guessed that these other people were yet to get into their rooms looking at the local village that was Sector III. Sora and the others boarded the small boat, each finding seats outside to enjoy the smell of sea water and the sunlight shining on them. They continued their talks of how the week would turn out, where Sora again remained distant from the conversation, instead choosing to lean over and look at the water as the boat parted to make its way to their destination.

"You alright Sora?" Sora looked up and saw Riku standing next to him, looking out into the distance. Sora smirked as he placed his head back into his arms as he sighed, lying as he said, "Me and boats aren't the best of friends," he smirked weakly as Riku nodded his head, holding out a small white pill as he said, "Helps with motion sickness," but Sora shook his head.

"I took one before, just takes a while for it to kick in...knowing my luck it will be right as i'm stepping off the boat," He laughed, and Riku smirked as he said, "Well look on the bright side Sora...at least you wont be sick while you're walking," and Sora scoffed as he nodded his head. Riku took a seat as Sora stood up, looking towards the island as he smirked and said, "Guys...think we've arrived," and the others all got up as they made their way towards the front of the boat.

From the distance, the entire island looked like a small city, with all eyes gazing upon the large tower in the middle of the island. Sora gazed in awe, completely unaware of how close they were to the city until he felt the entire boat slowly come to a stop, and felt the tap on his shoulder as he was directed towards the exit of the boat. Nodding his head, Sora made his way towards the exit, where many others were making their way out of the boat.

As the group swiped their cards allowing them to exit the area, Sora looked in awe around them. Terra had been very broad about how many shops there were. Truth be told, there were hundreds of shops that Sora recognized, from clothing to games to shoes to technology to even stores with extremely specific purposes, such as sunglasses and even swimmers. Sora heard Namine say something about forgetting to pack swim-ware, and all of a sudden the guys lost the girls as they made their way into one of the shops. The guys shrugged as they found a gaming shop, which was showcasing the latest in CommBoard games, and that was enough for the boys to try out the latest in gaming technology.

"Dude, this motion sensor is awesome!" Riku said, as the others watched him shooting down a group of zombies coming towards him.

"It looks great, but i think the need of 4D technology is just one too far," Roxas muttered as Riku looked back towards him.

"What's so bad about it?" He asked, and Sora raised his eyebrow as he covered his nose, saying as he did, "Do they really have to smell like them?"

Riku laughed as he turned back towards the screen, saying as he did, "It's all about the feeling guys, including smell," as Riku breathed in a smell of decaying flesh being emitted from the game, and Sora rolled his eyes as he walked over towards Axel, who was busy flicking through a list of the games faster then ever.

"You can't possibly read them that fast," Sora muttered, and Axel waited until he had gotten to the end of one of the several lines of games before turning to Sora, "I know what games i have and have not got, that makes it easy," before he returned to another line of games, Sora rolling his eyes as he heard the voice of the girls from the entrance of the shops, "Yevon, boys and their games,"

Sora's eyes widened as they looked at the three, "Holy hell, i thought you were buying one pair of swim-ware for Namine," The girls looked down at the four bags that each of them were holding, clearly they had gone a little overboard on someones card, and Sora mentally checked that his wallet had not been stolen by one of the girls. The last thing he needed was 500M on swim-ware appearing on his bill.

"We did, and then we realized we needed new swim-ware as well, and towels, glasses, hats, jeans, shirts-" but Kairi was stopped as Sora held out his hand, saying as he did, "In what universe does one wear jeans to the pools?"

"No, not for the pools, for everything else silly," She slapped Sora on the shoulder, before she leaned into her ear and whispered, "Besides, you won't be complaining when you see the bikini i bought," and winked as she moved over to talk to Axel, saying how there was a certain game she had been looking for.

It took a moment for the red in Sora's face to disappear, as his mind went into overdrive as his thoughts turned to Kairi in a number of different and revealing Bikini's. But he shook his head as he tried to think of something else, and blurted out a little too loudly, "Hey, whose up for something to eat?" and there was a general mutter of response as Sora took a sigh of relief and watched Riku ending his game and the group made their way out of the shop and down the street, where a large building was before them.

As they entered, Sora was amazed at how many food shops their were. The court was in a circular shape, with shops pushed up against each other. In the middle were a large number of tables able to seat from two people to even eight people. Sora took note of the fact that everything from the food counters to the tables were all black glass. This must have been the integration Terra had been talking about. Sora looked around as he slowly said, "Think i'll have some hot chips," and an Kairi and Riku both agreed with him, while the others decided to get Sushi.

Sora, Kairi and Riku made their way over to a simple hot chip shop, yet when they arrived they noticed that there was no monitor. Rather the list of items appeared on the table digitally, while a friendly woman behind the counter asked what they wanted, "Three hot chips thanks," Sora said, trying to mimic the girls smile with one of his own, and the woman nodded as she tapped one of the items three times, and another of the buttons, before the entire menu disappeared and was replaced with the price, and two words that said 'cash' and 'card'.

The three didn't have to wait very long before the woman appeared with the first lot of chips. As she put it down, the previously clear black glass shone bright red. Sora looked to her as he asked, "What does the red mean?" and the woman smiled as she said, "It's a feature of the service glass, when the product is being placed on the table, it flashes red. If it is removed before you pay, alarms will go off, it's to ensure that you don't go running off without the food," and Sora nodded his head as Riku whistled, "Talk about high-end technology,"

"Talk about paranoia," Sora muttered in response as the woman came out with the last of the chips. Pooling the correct amount of money together, they handed it to the woman. Once she had pressed 'cash' the entire table lit up green, which Sora could only assume meant that they were able to take their own food. Picking it up, the table suddenly went back to its normal clear black. Thanking the woman, the three walked over to the tables, where they didn't have to wait too long before they found the others, who were all marveling at their tables.

"Guys, you have to check this out," Xion said as the three looked at her, before slowly sitting down. Sora looked at his table, which appeared blank, before he slowly placed his chips onto the cool black glass. Instantly the entire table lit up, as a progress bar and the word 'scanning' appeared. Suddenly, Sora was given a detailed analysis of what he had just bought, including reviews of the hot chips from the shop he had bought it at (All thankfully good reviews), a list of other items from other shops that would go well with the meal, and even a calorie intake to tell him just how good the meal was.

Before he could even ask how, Roxas chimed in, "Apparently it uses weight sensors and 3D scanning technology to do what it does, as well as the usual BlackGlass stuff," and Sora could not help but notice that just like in his room, the BlackGlass offered Internet, maps, and settings. Sora smirked as he picked up a chip, saying as he did, "Now even more ways to completely ignore your friends," and he popped the chip into his mouth as he said, "Oh, that's not bad," and nodded his head to Kairi and Riku, who were already enjoying the delicious chips in front of them.

The rest of the time was spent enjoying each others company, while swapping between checking Recoded, updating their status', and even watching videos for movie trailers and funny pranking videos. Sora smirked as he saw Axel's eyes gleam at the pranking videos, and made a mental note to watch his back once he had returned back to school. He talked with Riku, and enjoyed the time they had thinking about what they would do with their week. While Sora exclaimed that he would like nothing better to do then to relax on the beach for the entire week, he knew that even though this was a vacation, he had work to do.

As the two talked, Kairi found herself distracted from conversation as she constantly looked towards Sora in a dreamy state that Xion and Namine recognized only too well. Excusing themselves to the bathroom, the two girls grabbed the distracted young woman as they dragged her all the way towards the bathroom. While Namine began to wash her face, Xion folded her arms as she muttered, "Spill,"

"What?" Kairi asked, and Xion responded just as quickly, "Don't give me that Kairi Farron, you've been ogling Sora since we got here, now i don't know what you're plan is, but you're currently on an island that is going to have plenty of horny teenagers just waiting for a chance to jump Sora, so if you don't tell him something soon i might do something drastic...like bang him myself,"

Kairi gave a look of horror as she said, "Don't you dare Xion," to which the girl laughed in success as she pointed her finger at the girl, "ah-HA! I knew it, you do like him," and Kairi spluttered as she realized what she had done, before she sulked, "Ok, i admit it, i like him...and i sort of told him that before,"  
"Wait, what do you mean 'sort of'?" Xion asked, before Kairi went into a detailed analogy of the conversation she had had with Sora at the 7th heaven, Xion nodding her head as Kairi finished it, before saying, "Yep, you were definitely coming across as interested, even a chocobo head like Sora should have picked up the signs," and Kairi nodded her head as she sighed.

"He did, i know he likes me, but he's got so much going on with life that it's just confusing," The young woman turned one of the taps on as she splashed water in her face, before looking at the mirror in front of her. Sighing, she looked at Xion for advice, and Xion smirked as she said, "Hang all this 'life getting in the way' bullshit and just tell him how you feel, if he does like you, then he'll take you," and Kairi smirked as she hugged the young girl. Xion truly was one of her friends, and the thought that she had once been jealous of her for hooking up with Sora seemed ridiculous at this point in time. Nodding her head, she looked at Namine, who smiled at her best friend, as the three hugged, before Kairi felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

Opening it up, she muttered, "Speak of the devil, the guys have said they're leaving for home since it's late afternoon," and Xion gave a small chuckle as she said, "I guess time flies when you have deep and meaningful conversations with those you love," and together the three girls made their way out of the bathroom.

The group met up at the entrance of the food court, where one by one they all managed to make their way back to the harbor. Enjoying the company of each other, Sora smirked as he watched Xion and Riku in conversing, Roxas and Namine stealing moments with each other, and Axel and Kairi having a laugh with each other. Sora sighed as he watched the boat coming towards them, before he pulled out his phone, looking at the map of the island that he had downloaded while at the hotel, and zooming in on the security office. Sora knew in his gut that there was something suspicious there, and that if there was any place that would give him answers, that was the place to search. No matter how small the odds were, he knew that he had to take them, in order to find out once and for all who he was.

All Sora knew for sure was, this was going to be one hell of a week.

**_x_**

**So i know i said this was going to be one chapter, but before i knew it i was writing so much i couldn't believe it. There was just so much information to put in, holy heck! So instead, im going to tease you with a two-parter. pitch-forks and torches will be on sale as you leave the lobby.**

**I gotta say, i really enjoyed writing this chapter, especially all that technical mumbo-jumbo. Who else kinda wishes they had BlackGlass Technology in their homes? I say give it 5 years, we'll all have glass shades. Let me know in the review what you thought of it?**

**Once again, a huge thank you to all the awesome people who continue to read this story. And for those of you who have just started reading, i hope you have enjoyed the ride up to this point, and continue to enjoy it. Again, many thanks go out to you wonderful reviewers, including **Stepfanny **(and all of her friends who apparently she has told about this story, you guys are wonderful, especially you steph =P) **Lion5589, Lenchkumaximus, R. Recollect, baileymermaid95, Keyblades of Oblivion, DestinyKeyblader28, Fluoricia, Random Reader 17, Getsuga TENSHOU 15, Leige of the Crimson Nightmare, EthanFlux, Soushin5 and ChristianLynch.

**For those of you who have asked me to read your stories, guys im so sorry i havn't gotten around to it. Just know that you are on my list of things to do (Bow chicka b ow wow) and i am trying to find time to read your obviously amazing stories. So bare with me, and i will get around to them =)**

**As for the next chapter, because i made this a two parter i will give you a little taste of what's going to happen. Expect laughter, singing, tension, thriller, and poor Roxas...poor poor Roxas...**

**Kind regards my lovely readers.**

**Jared Someone.**


	24. One Hell of a Vacation: Part II

_**J **__enova _

_**x**_

_**XXIII**_

_**x**_

_Sector I - Floor 39, Room XI_

_Midgar Resort_

_Present Day_

x

Sora's eyes slowly opened as he stretched. Like every day that week, Sora took a moment to register where he was, before he remembered that he was at the Midgar Resort on vacation. He sighed as he shifted his body to the left, before reaching out and grasping ahold of his phone, before letting out a groan.

"Six seems like better then ever to get up," Sora slowly rose, scratching his bare chest as he walked over to his chest of drawers, taking out a black shirt as he slipped it on. It was way to early to head over to breakfast, so instead he made his way into the living room, looking at the sliding door before him.

Once, he had been able to clearly see the black glass, and look onto the ocean in front of him. However, the entire wall was covered in paper, sticky notes and other drawings. All these added up to the same thing; layouts of the island, camera location, and even guard changes and posts.

Sora admitted that the artwork in front of him did look a tiny bit paranoid, but with such advancements in technology, Sora could not trust that his, as well as all the other rooms were being monitored by their digital footprint. There was no camera in the rooms, and Sora was right in assuming that unless he made a call they could actually be seen, so he had relied on paper and pens to mark out his plan.

As Sora looked over the layouts once again, he could not help but silently thank not only that house keeping only came after they vacated the room on the very last day, but also that all group hang outs were being done in Riku's room. For some reason he had managed to get the biggest room out of all of them, so it had been unanimously decided that his room would be where all underage heavy drinking would take place. Of course, Riku had not been too thrilled on the idea, as it had cut into his precious sleeping time, but the way the others had seen it, if he wanted to relax, he shouldn't have bragged about his large room.

It took Sora a moment to realize what the day was, and for a split second he found himself feeling nervous. But he kept his breathing in check as he remembered that an entire weeks planning was going to come into effect that night. He had been planning all week, looking over the guards, trying to hold onto memories of when they took shifts, where the cameras were, and how to get into the building before he got back to his room and had a chance to write them up and stick them on his wall.

The reason he had chose the last day to do it was for a number of reasons. For one it allowed him six days to plan out the optimal way to access the heavily guarded area. But there was another good reason, and it involved not risking his friends safety.

The bonfire night that Terra had talked about the first day they had arrived on the island was a perfect way for people to enjoy the last day at the Midgar Resort. Xion had personally gotten herself and the other under 18's access to the bonfire through the use of bribery and flirtation of the other guards, which all agreed while overdoing it, served their purpose well. Throughout the week Sora had heard that the area would be busy until the early in the morning, some even waiting until the sun rose before making their way back to their rooms to pack up. Sora's plan was simple, once everyone had gotten extremely drunk, he would excuse himself from the party and make his way towards the Security area, where hopefully he would have enough time to find something that would answer his questions.

Sora looked over the pictures, sighing as he did. There was of course one slight problem with his plan, the main one being that he had no idea what he was looking for. Clearly there wasn't going to be a door with the words 'Jenova' painted in nice bright colors, and he wasn't even sure how much time he would have before someone caught him and realized who he was. In fact, the more Sora thought about it, the more he realized that his plan had more holes in it then Spiran Cheese, but he also knew that he didn't have a lot of options. If he gave up this one chance, then he would never find out what Jenova really was, and how he was apart of it.

A knock at the door caused Sora to jump a tiny bit. He looked from the door to the thousands of papers stuck to his room, and he ran a hand through his hair. He was used to his friends texting him to come downstairs. His thoughts ran even more wildly as he expected a whole team of highly trained Shinra guards to bust through his room to take him Yevon knew where for Yevon knew what. Sora ran his hand through his hair in nervousness once again as he slowly walked up to the door, already planning what he was going to say, before he looked through the eye glass, and sighed in relief as he opened the door, the blonde haired young man smiled as he said, "Yevon above Sora, it looks like you were caught doing something suspicious," and Sora laughed weakly as he said, "You're not far off," and with that he invited the young man inside.

Roxas' attention was instantly taken by the large amount of papers in front of him, whistling as he said slowly, "Guess you've been doing anything but relaxing," and Sora nodded his head as he said, "Shinra gave me a chance, i'm taking full advantage of it," and Roxas nodded his head as he said, "Camera locations, guard times, I didn't even notice you looking at these,"

"Let's hope Midgar Security didn't notice either," He sighed as he sat on one of the chairs, his hair already a mess from the amount of times his hand had gone through it. He looked over one of the details as Roxas says, "So you're really going through with this? You're going to break into Midgar Security for some glimmer of hope," and Sora nodded his head as he wrapped his hand around himself, looking at the page as he said softly, "Rox...I've gotta try..."

"You realize you're risking an awful lot just for a shiny glimmer of hope...I mean i get it Sora, i do, you wanna know why you have this voice inside your head, i do as well...but breaking into a high guarded area for a tiny chance you might find something...doesn't it seem like to much,"

Sora sighed as he looked down at his knuckles, cracking them as he looked towards Roxas, saying as he did, "With all due respect Rox...You have no idea what i've gone through,"

Roxas looked like he was about to say something, but Sora held his hand before he continued, "Yes, we both have this condition...but unlike you mine has told me time and time again how the entire world is against me...for 10 years i was told i had a problem, and when i was a teenager, i began to see that develop in the form of Vanitas...you can't possibly tell me that you know what it feels like to be told day after day that you are useless and pathetic..."

Roxas fell silent as he looked towards Sora, who got up as he looked towards the wall, and coughed as he continued, "For 16 years i thought there was something wrong with me, and that i was the reason behind it. But now...what with all this Shinra stuff going on, i have a discover why i was chosen, what possible purpose my condition serves...and any answer i can get, no matter how small, i have to take it,"

Roxas sighed as he looked towards the determined man before him, before he nodded his head. Roxas got it, Sora had definitely gotten the raw deal out of the two, and Roxas had felt shame that he had blamed Sora for it. He needed answers, closure, and any small amount he could give the determined brunette was a pleasure for Roxas to do.

"So, what do you need me to do?" Roxas asked, and Sora smirked. He had been expecting the blonde to help out, but the truth was that Sora couldn't look out for Roxas. Sure he had an uncanny ability for dodging and attacking, but he needed all concentration on the layouts and plans, and with Roxas with him, his mind would only be going towards ensuring the young man was safe. He was good with struggle bats, but Sora was almost sure the security there would be carrying some form of firearm with them, and he wasn't sure how Roxas would be able to handle it.

So placing a hand on his friends shoulder, he muttered, "You can enjoy your last day on the island, and leave the dangerous side to me," and before Roxas had a chance to object, the sound coming from the table caused Sora to move away and answer it. Roxas stood stunned at the planning Sora had done, and how he was about to embark on the dangerous road on his own. He felt guilty about what he was about to do, but Sora seemed determined to do it alone, and the best he could do was stand out of the young mans way.

"That was Riku, we're going to the water park today," and Roxas nodded his head as he smirked, saying as he did, "About time, I don't know why it's taken us so long,"

"Well, what with all the shopping, movies and beaches we've been forced to go to, i'm surprised Riku managed to convince the others to go," and Roxas nodded his head as he made his way towards the door, calling over his shoulder, "I'll meet you at the elevator in ten?" And Sora responded with, "make it five, won't take me that long to get ready," to which Roxas laughed at Sora as he nodded his head, and exited the room.

It took far less then the five minutes for Sora to get ready, throwing on a pair of red knee long board shorts and a white towel sitting around his neck. Spraying some deodorant, and not bothering to put any shoes on, he walked bare foot out into the corridor, where he saw Roxas waiting in a pair of white board-shorts and a blue towel folded and tucked under his arm.

Whistling, Sora muttered, "Damn Rox, you've been holding out on us, since when were you fit," and Roxas looked away as he muttered something about exercising every morning. Smirking, Sora lightly punched the boy in his arm as he pressed the 'down' button in the elevator, and waited for a few moments before the doors opened up, and the two step into it.

Upon entering the lobby, Sora gazed upon the many people there before he pointed out his group, and they made their way towards them. Sora took note that Riku and Axel were both wearing nothing but board shorts like them, though most were above the knee unlike Sora's, the woman were wearing tank tops with ripped short shorts, Sora allowing a tiny smirk to grace his face for just a moment as he noticed the girls all trying to be discreet as they looked at the guys, and Sora could not help but notice Kairi gazing at him more then the others before returning back to the other girls. But as Sora looked Kairi up and down, those old feelings began to resurface. to say Kairi fit her outfit would have been an understatement, she was breathtakingly beautiful, not just because her clothing was showing off her curves, but the way she stood, stared, talked, for the first time for a while everything about the woman just seemed perfect to him.

Sora's eyes gazed from the woman to Xion, before he quickly looked away as she smirked, before whispering something to Kairi, who both giggled, but Kairi looked a bit embarrassed, like if Sora had been looking at her, then he would have caught her looking at him.

"So-" Riku broke the small amount of tension as he draped his towel around his neck in the same manner as Sora had, "The bus leaves in five, I think we should make out way out," and a mutter of agreement caused them to make their way out of the building, and to the bus zone, where there was already a small gathering of people.

True to Riku's word, The bus made its way up the path towards them minutes later. Sora was the last to get on the bus, and he looked around, seeing that it was rather full of people, he thought that he would have to get the next bus that came, before a voice came from the back of the bus, "There's a spot here," and Sora looked out to see Kairi sitting towards the back, and also noticed that it was a rather tight fit.

Looking towards Riku and Axel, who were both chortling, Sora, who knew they had something to do with the seating arrangement, made sure to hit them exceptionally hard on the shoulder as he made his way towards the back of the bus, slowing sitting down as he apologized for the tight squeeze as the bus made its onto the small road towards Sector IV. He looked across from Kairi as he said softly, "How long is the bus ride?"

"Only 20 minutes," the young woman smiled, and Sora groaned in his head. Twenty awkward minutes with the beautiful girl, if he didn't say or do anything stupid in that twenty minutes it would be a miracle.

However, the bus ride, though being rather short, was interesting to say the least. The first few moments were awkward for the two, however after noticing Axel bothering Roxas and Namine, who looked like they were trying to have a private conversation, they both laughed as they watched Roxas lean over and punch the boy in the shoulder, which started a small playful fight while Roxas fought for the young blonde girls honor. Sora was surprised that the two had not come out with the fact that they were a couple, they certainly did act like one, though there reasonings were their own, and in time they would reveal it, when both were ready.

But as the two continued laughing as Riku got in on the fight, neither one going for Namine, the two trying to take out Roxas, Sora wondered whether the reason was because of Roxas' condition. It was true that a relationship was much easier when there was only two people in it, instead of a large group, Sora was no stranger to thinking that their condition was sometimes a serious cock block, but then again, Roxas had a voice in his head that told him whether it was ok to hit on the young girl, what to say and when, whereas Sora's voice only gave him the urge to have sex with beautiful women. No help, no plan, just an urge. Sora wondered whether most guys had this, that urge to have a woman for their own, just without the violent side that was Vanitas. Sora sighed as he again realized that so long he had this voice in his head, there was no way he could ever consider having a relationship with Kairi, there was no way she could understand, and even if there was just the two of them in the relationship, his violent side was just of much of a risk.

Sora jolted as the bus finally stopped, looking around as he heard the driver say something about arriving at Sector IV, and Sora slowly watched as the bus began to empty. Sora and Kairi were the last to leave, as he heard Kairi ask him, "Have you ever looked up or seen Sector IV Sora?" to which Sora shook his head, to which the young woman smirked as she said, "Then you're going to love this," and Sora looked a bit confused as he stepped off the bus, turning around, and feeling his jaw drop.

From the gate that held the large letters '_Sector IV_' on the gate, The entire place had sand, save for the footpath leading throughout the park. From the sides, there was large pools, man made beaches, tables and chairs to relax. But it wasn't this that had gotten Sora's attention, but the extremely large tower in the distance.

It was at he very end of the park, which over looked the sea beyond. On each level there was pipes and tubes, some that went around and around, some that just went straight down in a thrill-type manner, and others that lead into funnels that dropped people into one of several pools that was the ending of each of the tubes. But amazing as it was, Kairi smirked as she muttered into Sora's ear, "It's the top that you want to get to Sora," and Sora looked to her, wondering what sort of amazement would be at be very top, as from the front Sora couldn't get a good look, as it was blocked by the very tower that held it all together.

As the group made their way into the park, Sora looked around as he noticed not only the pools, but the Spa's which had been embedded into the ground and the Sauna boxes which seemed large enough to hold at least two dozen people. There were lockers, there were kiosks, There was everything needed to make a great water park.

Sora looked around as he saw the group heading to one of the lockers. Sora caught up as the group paid for two lockers, one for Roxas, Namine, Axel and Xion, and the other for Sora, Riku and Kairi. The women all made their way into the change rooms' Sora questioning what they were getting changed for, to which Riku and Axel looked at each other before saying, "You really don't know anything about women and water-parks do you Sora," and Sora looked confused as he watched the women walking out.

The first was Xion, who Sora had to be very careful not to stare as she walked out wearing a black Bikini and a pair of sunglasses. Axel wolf whistled as Riku looked the woman up and down, before saying, "You clean up nice Xion," to which the young woman bent her sunglasses down before she slapped Riku on the arse and winked, saying as she did, "You don't look so bad yourself Riku," and the two smirked at each other as they watched Namine exit next.

The young blonde was wearing a pair of complete white Bikini set that contrasted Xion's Bikini. A whistle was made by Axel, and looked like he was about to say something, when suddenly there was a loud 'thump' and Axel tumbled to the ground as Roxas looked from Axel to Namine, and smiled as he muttered a soft, "You look wonderful," and Namine blushed as she thanked the young man, letting out a soft smile as she looked towards the change rooms, where the attention of the surrounding area changed from Axel grumbling as he got up to Kairi walking out.

The auburn red haired young woman was dressed in a pair of tight purple shorts and matching bikini top, on the centre were purple hearts that drew attention to her top half. Once all the males had stopped gawking at her, Riku, Roxas and Axel all looked towards Sora, who was still looking at awe at the young woman. Smirking, she walked up to the young man as she said, "What do you think Sora?" but no sound was made as Kairi gave the petrified young man a wink before she walked off, everyone but Sora seeing her give a thumbs up to Xion and Namine, who nodded her head in happiness as the two girls made their way to join Kairi. The flirtation student had become the master.

"Poor boy looks like he's gonna have a stroke," Riku muttered to Axel, and he muttered back, "Who wouldn't if they had a chance with her...sure you don't wanna hit that again,"

"Afraid that ship has probably sailed by now, the question is..." Riku looked at the young man who was still starring at the change rooms as Riku muttered into Axels ear, "Whether Sora will be able to take up the wheel," and Axel nodded in agreement, the ball was in Sora's court now, and with Kairi the way she was, he only had a limited amount of time to hit back as it were.

"Shouldn't we get him away from the entrance of the woman's changing room before we get picked up from security for loitering and pervertedness?" Roxas muttered, and Axel nodded his head as he said, "Good point," and moved over to him as he snapped his fingers as he said, "Come on Sora, lets go swimming before the big bad Shinra Security guards come and take us away," and picked up the young boy as they made their way towards the Atlantis Castle.

It took Sora a moment before he realized what was going on, before he struggled against the man as he dropped him, before he looked around and said, "How the hell did i get here?"

"You don't remember?" and Sora shook his head, saying as he did, "Namine was walking out of the bathroom, and then-" Sora stopped once again as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped, before Axel groaned "Great, she broke him again," before pointing to the three girls, where you could clearly see that Kairi was trying to impress the young man as she swayed her hips in a similar manner that Xion was. Riku cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted, "GOOD JOB KAIRI! WE JUST FIXED HIM!" and Axel picked up the young boy as Riku muttered, "Someone find a damn blindfold for him,"

"Don't you have one?" Roxas asked, and Riku sighed as he said, "It was just a phase I went through to see if i could live without sight," to which Roxas smirked, saying as he did, "A phase that lasted almost a year,"

"On and off for a year," Riku corrected the blonde as Sora suddenly came back to the living, looking around as he said, "...I was starring at Kairi's arse again wasn't I," to which Riku nodded sadly as Axel released him, saying as he did, "Well, look on the bright side Sora, at least we know you're not gay," The comment earned him a slap as the men made their way to the front of the tower, Sora trying to ensure that he would not be frozen when he saw the half naked young woman in front of him, and when he was sure he had control over his emotions, he made his way through the doors.

The entire staircase was made of concrete, and was also extremely wet as Sora felt the water on his feet. Looking up, he saw that the three girls were already up on the third floor, calling out for them to hurry up. As Sora and the others made their way up, Sora looked on each floor, which held two lines on either side, with a large opening which Sora assumed would lead to the slide on each side. Though Sora would have loved to go on one of the shorter lines, which seemed to grow longer as they made their way up, he was constantly told that the better line was up the top.

Upon finally reaching the final level of the tower, Sora looked at the spiral staircase that made its way into daylight at where Sora assumed was the very top of the tower. He managed to climb up the spiraling staircase, looking up into the light, and as he finally reached the platform, he looked out in awe.

They were standing right at the top of the tower, where they were encased in a clear box. where at the other end was a clear tube that looked like it shot straight down. Sora was thankful that there was not a long enough line, he assumed that if they were at a public water park, they would be standing in line for hours. However, thankfully they were at the Midgar Resort, where only the best of the best could afford, and only half a dozen people were standing in line. As the others stood in line waiting to go, Sora walked over to the side to peer out, and what he saw made him half excited and half nervous as anything.

The clear tube shot straight down into the ocean, where Sora could only just make out it going straight under the water, circling around, before what it seemed like returning inland. From where they were standing Sora could not see where it exited the patrons, but he knew that there would be somewhere back in the park, and not in the middle of the ocean.

Looking back at where his friends were, he discovered that most of them had already shot down the ride, which the outline of the front of the tube had a light that changed from red to green to let the riders know when to go down the tube. Sora walked over to Kairi as they watched the light go from red to green and Riku shot down the slide. Sora heard the man scream in delight as Kairi laughed, before looking at Sora with giant grin on her face, before positioning herself and waiting for a few moments, before the green light allowed her to shoot down, whooping and screaming as she did.

Sora looked behind him to see that there was a crowd gathering. Smiling nervously, he turned back towards the shoot as he lowered himself down, looking at the jets on the side that were shooting out water. Sora looked around as he slowly waited for the light to turn green, his heart beat slowly getting faster as every second past, until he saw the green light flash. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself forward.

Sora felt his stomach sit in his throat as he shot down the tube, barely being able to keep his eyes open, he got a clear look at the ocean and sky above him as he shot down, heading straight into the water. As he took one last glance at the sky above him, Sora whooped as shot straight under water.

The young man slowly opened his eyes as he gazed in awe. The clear tube allowed him to see underwater so clearly he could see the fish swimming around, the clear ocean water allowed him to enjoy his surroundings, to marvel as the water pushed his through the tube, amazed at how the fish were able to avoid the tube without bumping into it. Sora tried to reach out, with something in his head telling him that he could indeed touch the fish, but the pressure from the water that was carrying his body did not allow him to even be able to move an inch of his arm. So instead he positioned his body comfortably as he enjoyed the show before him.

As the tube did a full circle around the area, Sora felt the water pushing him faster and faster. Sora moved his head as he saw the tube returning back to the island, but underground for some reason. He felt the water pushing him as he took one last look at the ocean surroundings before him, before it suddenly went pitch black. And just as quickly as it had gone dark, there was a huge burst of water coming from several more water jets as he felt the tube go up, and a bright light blinded him temporarily as he he shot out of the tube like a cannon, into the air, his arms and legs flying around as he landed in a large pool.

Waiting a moment, he used his feet to kick himself to the surface of the water. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, he looked over to the shallow end of the large pool, where the others were laughing at his reaction from coming out of the pool. Making his way towards them, he turned around and noticed that from the deep end, the tube came out from the very bottom of the pool and was positions a few feet above the water level, allowing complete safety as it flung its unsuspecting riders into the pool.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," Sora chuckled as he felt the others copying his motion as he had been flung out, as Sora sweatdropped, "Guys, I was there, you don't have to remind me how foolish i was,"

"Oh, but you didn't see it Sora, you didn't see the pleasure of you being flung out of the tube," Riku chortled as the other laughed harder, and Sora rolled his eyes as he flicked the young man on the nose, causing him to step back in surprise as Sora smirked, "Im going for a swim," and with that he made his way towards one of the pools, followed by the others.

The majority of the day was spent at the pools, where the other laughed and enjoyed. In between relaxing and throwing themselves on the dozens of the rides that Sector IV had to offer. Sora would spend one moment sliding down one of the rides with the guys to relaxing at the side of the pools talking with Kairi to enjoying ice cream with the others. Before Sora knew it, he was being awoken from his chair as Xion was looking down at him. Sora blinked a couple of times as he heard the girl mutter, "You look so gorgeous when you sleep Sora,"

"Thanks Xion..." Sora responded, a little nervous and confused, and Xion laughed as she took the seat next to him, saying as she did, "Relax Strife, you know what kind of person i am,"

"How can I forget? The first week we met you were making out with me," Sora chuckled, and Xion shrugged as she said, "Well, you were a good kisser," and Sora laughed as he nodded his head, before sighing as he looked out into the distance. Xion looked the man over, saying as she did, "I remember that as well,"

"Remember what?" He asked, and Xion chuckled softly as she said, "The nervousness, the angst, distancing yourself from everyone, trying not to let your feelings show," and Sora sighed as he leaned against the chair, nodding his head. The woman may have been a serial flirter, but she was true to her last name. She definitely was Wise.

"And for a time we though we had gotten you out of that, you were having fun, enjoying yourself, having a 'grand old time' with us, you were one of us...or one of them at least," She smirked as she looked towards the others, Kairi, Riku, Namine and Roxas playing a game of chicken while Axel was flirting with a young woman at the other end of the pool.

"You're one of the group Xion," Sora said, and Xion smirked as she said, "Only recently, helping out Kairi and flirting with Riku, but you were apart of them Sora," The boy sighed as he looked at her, doing his best to place a smile on his face, and the young girl shrugged as she continued, "And most of the time i see you running, smiling, playing with the others...but every now and again, especially seeing you this last week, you seem to be shifting to that time when you were distant, not allowing anyone in,"

Sora looked at her for a moment, before he looked down and ran a hand through his previously wet hair which the sun had done a marvelous job at drying out. He looked at her as he said, "What's your point Xion?"

"My point is whether whatever is going on in that brain of yours is worth all this trouble, I know you've got some stuff going on, but you're an 18 year old dude...you have the rest of your life to work out problems, and not a lot of days left where you can still get away with being a kid...I mean, is whatever is going on really that important to you?"

On the one hand, Xion did have a point. He had been so hell bent on discovering what Shinra was working on that he had been ignoring basic things. Not just his studies for his final examinations, but his friends and even family. In fact, the more Sora thought about it. His birthday party had been the first time that he had gone out to relax, most of the time was spent at home, doing nothing but thinking what Shinra had planned.

But Xion didn't know the full story. She didn't realize that this wasn't some schoolyard emotional problem that every other kid went through, this was something that had affected him since he was but a kid. It was the exact same thing that he had talked about with Roxas, neither of them could grasp the full story as to why he was doing this, that it wasn't just because he was curious, but because there was a reason, and he felt that he needed to know.

But knowing that an argument would get him nowhere, he nodded his head as he said, "Hopefully i can sort through this soon then," and Xion smirked as she nodded her head, saying as she did, "I hope so, cause you're absolutely no fun when you're like this," and Sora smirked as he felt her hand on his knee in a caring way for about a second, before she got up and headed into the water, where she coaxed Axel (who seemed to already have gotten the young girls number and promise that they would talk more that night) to join the others in a three-way duel of chicken.

Sora smirked as he decided to close his eyes once again, the sight of the sun slowly beginning to set making him feel nervous. In a matter of hours he would be making his way into the Security section of Sector I, and thinking about it was already tightening his stomach. So instead he allowed himself a half hour of sleep, before he was once again poked awake, this time by Riku, who smirked at the young man as he said, "We're all heading back now so we can get ready," and Riku smirked as he extended his hand, and helped the young man up.

They made their way towards the locker room, where the men waited for the women to get dressed. By the time they were out, their wet outfits wrapped up in their towels and under their arms, the men having already gotten their items so they wouldn't be waiting for them for too long. It didn't take long for them to get on the bus, where excitement about that night seemed to flow through their conversation, having already heard rumors from others as well as accounts from Xion and Riku when they had attended their last Midgar Bonfire night years ago (at different times, with different accounts)

As they pooled out of the bus, they made their way back up to their room, where they agreed to meet a couple of hours in order to catch the bus up to Sector V. Sora was soon sitting on the chair, starring at the papers in front of him. Once he was sure that he had memorized everything, he stood up and began taking them down, one by one he looked them over, until he could read it off by heart, before he placed it into the complementary bin that came with his room. As he placed the very last of the papers into the bin, he walked out onto the balcony, where he removed a lighter he had bought himself for just the occasion, taking out one of the papers and lighting it. Once it was sufficiently burning, he slowly placed it into the bin, where in a matter of seconds all of the papers were burning, until they were merely ash.

Although the written down copies were now gone from the planet, their information was clear in Sora's mind. He had gone over his plan again and again, even once feigning sickness so while his friends were in the Sector III Village, he was traveling via boat from Sector I to V, and back again, knowing where the cameras were, studying the optimum place to sit where he wouldn't be seen, the guards that would be on at what time, and even the best place to gain access to the secluded area.

Once the fire had lost its fuel and had died out, Sora picked up the ash and, ensuring that there wasn't anyone at the back of the hotel looking up or around, threw it as far as he could away from them, where it floated in the wind until he was sure that it had landed in the water. There was no chance now that there was proof of what he was planning, he moved back into his room as he changed from his board-shorts into a nice looking black v-neck shirt, a loose pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a pair of sneakers and a hooded jacket. Rolling up the sleeves, he ran a hand through his hair and sat down, going over his plan again and again until he was satisfied that he could go to a party and still be able to recall his plan with a snap of his fingers. He was in such deep thought that he almost didn't hear the knock at the door. Walking over, he greeted Roxas and Riku, who were clearly bored waiting for the others and wanted to know what he was doing.

"Why don't you go buy alcohol for tonight?" Sora asked as he looked through his phone, noticing that he had a message from his father, and hurriedly texted him is day as he heard Riku respond, "Midgar Resort supplies copious amounts of alcohol for their guests," to which Sora rolled his eyes as he said, "Of course they do,"

"So, looks like someone's gonna get lucky with Xion tonight," Roxas nudged the man, and Riku retorted just as quickly, "Why don't you tell us what sort of adventure you'll get up to with Namine tonight hmm?" and Roxas quickly shut up as Sora chortled, before making his way into his room.

He found his wallet sitting on the bedside table. He was about to pick it up, when he stopped. He wasn't sure whether he should take his wallet. On the one hand he didn't want any trouble with security if they asked to see his ID while at the bonfire night, but on the other hand, the less incriminating evidence he had on him the better, especially if he were to get caught. In the end, Sora withdrew his ID from his wallet and shoved it in his pocket, making a note to give it to Riku as soon as they got there. He would make up some excuse about not wanting to lose it when he got there, but at least it covered his bases rather well.

Opening up his drawer, he placed the wallet inside and took out his picks. From what Sora had seen most of the doors had a basic keycard security system that would make his pick's useless. However, he had managed to find one door at the side that still used a basic key-lock, which Sora would be able to gain access to. However, without an in depth layout of the area, he wasn't sure where it would lead him, but knew it was his only chance to gain access to the building.

Sora heard Roxas shout that the others were waiting outside, so shoving his pick's into his pocket, he zipped up his jacket and made sure he had his phone on him before making his way out to the others, where Riku and Roxas were already making their way out the door. As Sora joined them, he saw the other ladies, all dressed like they were ready to party. Sora took particular note on what Kairi was wearing, a very small amount of make up, a pair of black jeans and a low cut pink t-shirt along with a purple hooded coat. Kairi caught the young man starring and both smiled as the man looked around and asked where Axel was, "Oh, he's already there, he met up with the girl who he talked to at the pools," Riku responded and Sora smirked as he said, "Hope he enjoys himself," and the others smirked as they made their way to the elevator.

Entering the hotel lobby, Sora could not help but notice there were quite a few men and women their own age making their way towards the front. As the group followed them, they noticed the several busses waiting to transport the guests to the harbor. The group managed to find a couple of seats for them to share, where already most were eager to get to the beach and enjoy their final night there. Sora did his best to try to remain interested in the conversation, and yet he could not help but feel that nervousness grow stronger and stronger. He somehow remained calm as he took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he felt the bus growing slower and slower until it came to a complete stop.

Opening his eyes, he saw that most had already exited the bus. Pulling himself up with help from the seat in front of him, he stepped off the bus as he gazed in awe at the boat before him. It was double story boat, where already many people were beginning the night of enjoyment and drunkard-ness. Sora smirked as he joined the others, zipping up his jacket as he walked onto the boat, someone shoving a drink into his hands. He cheered and clinked glasses before he turned around and threw the drink overboard. He would allow his friends and random strangers to think he was drinking and slowly getting drunk, which would fit in with his plan to pretend to get sick and go back to the apartment without the others.

Sora didn't have to wait long before the boat began making its way from the harbor, with AERIS echoing throughout the boat that they would be arriving in Sector V within five minutes. Sora heard the distinct playing of a guitar and a song he didn't recognize as the boat slowly made its way towards the Sector V harbor. The young man stuck his hands into his pocket as he watched the guitarists play and others dance on the bottom level, which had a dance floor surrounded by seats, Sora wondering if the guys playing the guitar would be providing the entertainment for the evening.

The boat slowed down as it made its stop into the harbor, where the teens and young adults made their way off, cheering and screaming about the night before them, and Sora slowly got off the boat as he smirked, walking with the others as they drank and dance. The brunette teenager looked up as he saw the sun slowly disappear beyond waterline, the light being kept by the moon that was making its way up. Sora knew that soon the only light to shine would be the bonfire on the beach, and yet this light that was fading made him more calm. He felt the wind blow through his hair as the group made their way through the park, Sora looking down as the grass as his sneakers hit the pavement, one after the other as the others dancing and cheering led him through the park, the pavement continuing through trees as tall as ever, before they emerged onto the beach.

The entire place was already quickly filling with teenagers. Sora gazed in awe as he saw not one, but three well lit bonfires, with a group of strong looking men already building a fourth one. Around each bonfire was large logs, where people sat and talked, drank, and began the very first make out sessions of the night. Sora gazed over as he noticed two of the guitarists from the boat, singing along as they strummed hard against their guitars;

_This Heart Attack!  
I've gotta get away, I'm not coming back.  
And that's a flatline!  
So call me when you can, some other time._

Men and women cheered as a group of girls were began to dance. Sora took note of some of the guys looking their way, one by one asking each of the girls to dance with them. Sora smirked as he made his way over to one of the logs, where he took his seat and looked over next to him, where he spotted several large ice boxes, one of which was filled with Potions. Taking one, he looked around to make sure no one was looking his way before he poured half away, to give it the look he had already drank from one. Cheering loudly, it echoed in the form of several already tipsy teenagers yelling back. Sora smirked as he looked at Axel, who was talking to the woman Sora recognized from the pools. Seeing the man look at both himself and his date, Axel slipped his hand into hers as he dragged her over to him, saying as he did, "Sora man! glad you could make it,"

"I wouldn't miss tonight for the world?" Sora cheered as he tapped his half empty bottle with Axel, as he looked from the boy to the young girl as he said, "Sora, let me introduce you to the wonderful Arlene Larxene. This here is a mate of mine, Sora,"

The blonde woman nodded her head as she extended her hand, and Sora shook it as he said, "Lovely to meet you," to which the woman responded, "Likewise,"

"Larxene is studying her final year at Oblivion University, getting her Mark of Mastery in...what was it babe?" and Larxene smirked as she responded, "Meteorology and Biochemistry," and Sora nodded his head in interest, saying as he did to the red head, "Got yourself a keeper there Axe, smart and sexy, dangerous mix," and he smirked at the blonde as she smiled back, clearly she didn't take the statement as an insult, "So what made you chose Meteorology and Biochemistry Larxene?"

"Well, if you look at the atmosphere above us as a living organism, using the basis that Lightning and Weather are created the same way humans create sweat and other functions, I believe that these two together could lead the research into Weather altering and even controlling," She smirked, her eyes shining as Sora could just picture the motivated and intelligent young woman excited about the prospect of her research. He nodded his head as he said, "Sounds to me like you're very interested in the weather,"

and the woman nodded as she wrapped her hands around her and looked up at the sky, saying as she did, "Oh yes, I love the weather...especially lightning," and looked down at the boy with smile that grew across her face as Axel wrapped his arms around the young girl, saying as he did, "Well, don't worry babe, i'll protect you from the thunder,"

Sora smirked as he rose his bottle to her, sarcastically congratulating her on the choice of man she had made for that night, and somehow getting the motion, she winked as she said, "The nights still young," and with that Axel and Larxene made their way to another section of the party, as he heard a cheer coming from one of the campfires, and seeing the shadows of Namine and Xion, he made his way over to them.

Looking from one to the other as he stood next to them, Xion pointed over to both Riku and Roxas, who had somehow managed to get ahold of one of the guitars, and were now strumming along as they sang in sync.

_I was the man who never lied,  
never lied until today.  
But i just couldn't break your heart,  
like you did mine yesterday.  
I was the man who never lied,  
Woah...yeah..._

Strumming the final notes, the crowd cheered as Riku got up and took a bow, Sora, Namine and Xion clapping the loudest as people whooped and cheered. Sora whistled at the two as Riku looked up, a smirk on his face as he walked forward, shoving the guitar in the young boys hand as he threw him down, whispering as he did, "Your father told me you were good with a guitar, make these people dance," and with a wink, stepped back.

_Curse that drunken man _Sora thought to himself as he looked around, people starting to talk. Sora didn't have the faintest idea what these people wanted, growing nervous as the voices around him began to get louder, and a familiar voice in his head starting to chuckle.

But before Sora could allow Vanitas to say a single word, he looked over to Roxas as he smirked, before whispering something into his ear. The blonde haired young man looked back as he muttered, "You think you can play that?"

"You think you can keep up?" Sora retorted, and Roxas smirked as he chucked the young man a black plectrum, before he began to strum his guitar quickly. Sora bobbed his head as he plucked a few chords, before strumming at the same speed as the young man, and singing as loud, clear and in rhythm as he could.

_Show me, show me, show me a starry-eyed kid  
I, I, I will break his jaw  
I won't, I won't, I won't let him get his hopes up  
No-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh_

Sora watched as the crowd began to bob their heads, clearly interested in the song before them. Slowly they began to dance, each finding themselves a partner or a group as they bounced their heads around the fire and in front of the two guitarists, each strumming with such force, and yet with such grace as Sora continued into the next part of the song.

_And haven't you heard the word on the street is  
"I lost it, called it quits"  
Get into the sun,  
Out from behind the gossip  
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh_

Sora bit his tongue as he looked around, a smile spreading on his lips as the crowd began to dance and cheer, some trying to sing along with the young man, but Sora smirked, knowing they were merely humming and slurring as they listened to him place, he nodded to Roxas as he rocked his head, leading straight into the chorus.

_This story's getting old  
The home wrecker with the heart of gold  
Keep you locked up in the trunk of my mind  
Keep, k-keep talking, Keep this alive_

Sora didn't take too long to jump right back into the chorus, but as he looked around and sang, he couldn't help but see Kairi squeeze past some of the dancing kids as he looked at the two boys, but her eyes were trained on Sora. She smirked as she wrapped her hands around her body, and bobbed to and fro to the music, Sora only imaging what it would be like to stop playing all together, walk up to the young woman and wrap his own arms around her, as they danced slowly to their own song that played in their minds. A seclusion in their subconscious where they needn't worry about their lives at that point in time. No school, no voices, no Jenova, just the two of them.

_This story's getting old.  
The home wrecker with the heart of gold,  
keep you locked up in the trunk of my mind  
now-ow, ow-ow, ow-ow._

The two boys finished playing as they heard Roxas drop his guitar and made his way into the crowd. Sora could tell that even though he had managed to play the song rather beautifully, he was still tipsy on both the alcohol and the adrenaline of playing in front of all the people as he wrapped his arms around the young woman and whispered into her ear. She looked red for a moment before she stopped, and looked at the man, as if making an important decision in a split second, before nodding her head.

"Guys," clearly the young blonde had forgotten in the spam of 5 seconds that he only knew half a dozen people in front of him, "Me and Nam have an announcement, for the past six months, me and Namine have been-"

"Banging each other on the Art room floor?" Axel shouted out, "Yeah, we already knew that!" and everyone laughed as Roxas picked up his hard plastic bottle and aimed it at the red head, hitting him square in the forehead as he crashed into the sand, before Roxas straightened up and said in a rather posh accent, "in a relationship,"

Sora smirked as he held out his bottle, and cheered as it soon caught on, and very soon 70 of the teenagers there all cheered with them as Sora allowed himself to have a small sip of the drink, enough that he could feel the cold zesty taste and yet not enough to make him anything above slightly buzzed.

Sora was so interested in the young couple before him that he hadn't noticed someone had taken Roxas' place on the log, the white guitar in her arms as she smirked at Sora, saying as she did, "Mind if i play with you?" and for a moment, Sora was gone from the beach.

He was standing back in the school office on his first day there, looking at a pamphlet that was trying to convince him to join music. There was a younger Kairi, still with the same long auburn hair, dressed nicely as she was singing into the mic. From there, memories of seeing the young girl play guitar in their music class flashed through his mind, and though he had heard the young woman plenty of times in the past six months, he was still to actually sing with her. What would people think? Would their voices match, or would they fail terribly.

Sora was pushed back into the present as the young woman smiled at him, saying as she did, "Why don't we play something nice for the lovely people," and before Sora had time to suggest a song, Kairi began strumming.

Sora's eyes widened as he watched her fingers grace the guitar, strumming up and down as she continued looking at the boy with a cocky smirk spreading her lips. Clearly she had practiced singing the song many times, and Sora instantly knew it was a favorite of the young woman before him. But It was as if she had been practicing this song for a while now, and that she had been eager to play it once again. She softly bit her lips as Sora smirked, looking at her along with a majority of people as she began.

_I don't like walking around this old and empty house._

Sora smirked as he muttered to her, just loud enough for the crowd to hear him, "So hold my hand and i'll walk with you my dear," Kairi smirked, the speaking to singing mix up seemed to please the ears of the crowd around her as she continued to sing.

_The stairs creek as i sleep, it's keeping me awake._

"It's the house telling you to close your eyes," He said a little louder, and Kairi grinned as she looked down at the guitar in front of Sora. Sora looked from the guitar back into her eyes. She already knew that the young man knew how to play well, and that he could definitely keep up with her, no matter how good she was with the guitar. Sora smirked as he positioned the guitar in his lap.

_Some days I can't even dress myself,  
It's killing me to see you this way.  
_'_Cause though the truth may vary  
This ship with carry our, bodies safe to shore._

Both Sora and the young woman grinned as they raised their hands and yelled "Hey!", before beginning to strum to the audience, both of them combining their voices together to create a heavenly sound that echoed throughout all the bonfire sites, where every single head turned, and the bodies attached walked over to the musical entertainment that was Sora and Kairi.

_Don't listen to a word I say, Hey!  
the screams all sound the same, Hey!  
_'_Cause though the truth may vary  
this ship will carry our, bodies safe to shore._

By now the entire group of teenagers were surrounding the two, swaying to the song as men found women to hold and comfort while the two strummed along. Sora looked up to see Riku and Xion both facing each other as Riku held the young woman, both their hands on the others arse. Roxas and Namine were both swaying with each other, love clearly shining from their eyes. Axel had disappeared, to where Sora could only assume was a secluded area with Larxene. But it didn't bother him; the man was happy where he was, just as Sora was happy right next to Kairi playing his guitar.

Sora and Kairi both slowed down in their playing, allowing a strum in time with the lyrics of the song. Neither were looking across at the crowd, but were watching at each other now. Small smiles spread across their face as they sang slow, and yet clear.

_You're gone, gone, gone away  
I watched you disappear  
All that's left is the ghost of you._

Neither allowed their eyes to gaze down at the other, as they stopped playing the guitar. Both were not just singing anymore, they were talking slowly. There was no music, no crowd to play in front of them. It was just them, talking as clear as they had been in the 7th Heaven, both knew the other had feelings for them, yet Sora sighed as he looked away, speaking the next part.

_Now we're torn, torn, torn apart,  
There's nothing we can do  
Just let me go we'll meet again soon_

Kairi looked a little hurt, knowing the sub-meaning behind the lyrics. And yet, when she realized what was next. She looked at the boy with a smile on her face, before her strumming echoed not only throughout the area, but also within the ears of the spiky brunette boy as he looked up suddenly.

_Now wait, wait, wait for me  
Please hang around  
I'll see you when I fall asleep_

Sora didn't even realize the smile had broken through as he looked at the girl, and for a moment all his talk about keeping her distant faded, as through the lyrics, he knew that Kairi was telling him that she would be there, no matter what. His memories flashed to the day at the beach where he had told her about his condition, and remembered that she had told him no matter what she would be there for him. How had he forgotten, so much had gone on lately that this had just disappeared. Maybe it was Vanitas trying to convince him he was alone, but just then, in that one moment, he knew there was someone there for him, no matter what. So smiling, he strummed along with the young woman.

_Don't listen to a word I say, Hey!  
The screams all sound the same, Hey!  
and though the truth may vary,  
this ship will carry our, bodies safe to shore._

Sora and Kairi both finished strumming, and stared at each other with small smiles on their faces as the crowd cheered. Sora and Kairi both got up and cheered, Sora picking up his half empty bottle as he placed the guitar onto the side, both Kairi and himself made their way through the crowd, feeling the pats on the back as they passed through the last of the crowd as they heard the guitar being played once again. Clearly someone believed they could play better then the two, though from the way the crowd was beginning to thin, clearly this was not the case. Sora looked around, and saw that the others were giving the two privacy, though Roxas, who seemed like he had gotten drunk rather quickly, probably from the shot's table, was making his way into the trees area outlining the back of the beach. Sora smirked as Riku pelvic thrusted, and reminded himself to smack the boy as soon as he woke up the next day.

"I never knew you played guitar," Sora smiled as Kairi looked up from her feet and smirked, saying as she did, "I like singing better, though you seemed quite comfortable as a posed to when you're in class,"

She was right, most of the time Sora would be too nervous to play in front of the class, he got his marks from the theory side, though he was only just passing the class. Sora stuck his hands in his jacket pockets as he said, "Don't know what came over me," and chuckled, the young woman grinning as she said, "You know if you need help with your exam practical, i think partners are allowed, and if we're anything like we were just then, we'll be sure to receive top marks," Sora nodded his head as he looked down once again, saying as he did, "Thanks...I might take you up on that offer," before he felt a vibration in his pocket.

It was the alarm he had set on his phone to let him know that in half an hour the guards would change, giving him the small window of opportunity to get into the area.

Replacing his phone into his pocket, Sora took two steps before he pretended to stumble as he dropped his bottle, the remaining untouched drink flowing into the sand as he fell to his knees, Kairi instantly alarmed as she held her hand out, "Sora!" but her worry was subsided as Sora let out a weak chuckle, saying as he did, "Guess i can't hold my alcohol tonight,"

"Do you need some water?" She asked, looking around for a bottle of water, but Sora shook his head as he muttered, "I think ill just make my way back to the room...great way to spend the last day here, huh?"

"Hold on, I'll get my things and we can go back together," Kairi made her way to the back, and Sora's eyes widened as his brain went into overtime, before saying, "Kai, all i'm going to be doing is sleeping, you should be here enjoying your time,"

"But what if something were to happen," She did worry about the young boy, Sora was rather touched, but it didn't stop the fact that she had to remain here and out of trouble, "The walk back will sober me up, and ill have a glass of water before I go to sleep,"

"You better," Kairi still looked worried, but she leaned forward and gave the boy a small kiss on the cheek, before saying, "I'll come to your room to check on you tomorrow," and Sora thanked her as she made her way back into the party, Sora watching as he sighed, before turning around and finding the path, slipping the hood over his head, the bangs all folding forward as the stuck out from the hood as he began to quickly make his way away from the beach, walking across the pathway through the park as he muttered to himself, "Ready or not Shinra, here I come,"

_**x**_

_**Songs: **__This Heart Attack - Faker, The Man Who Never Lied - Maroon 5, Snitches and Talkers Get Stitches and Walkers - Fall Out Boy, Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men._

**Discounted price on those torches and pitchforks can be found in store.**

**I KNOW guys, I know i said this story would only be two parts, and i'm leaving you at a pretty cruel point, seeing as you don't even know what's happened to Roxas yet, BUT FRET NOT, for I do have good news.**

**You see, i had no idea how long part two was actually going to go for, and seeing at it was 16,000 freaking words long, I realized that was insanity for two chapters. So with a few editing techniques, i managed to cut this chapter into two.**

**So what does hell that mean I hear you ask? Well, currently the 3rd part of this originally one chapter is sitting on my desktop, ready to be re-read and posted, so when i say that tomorrow morning (Australian time guys) i will be posting the third part of this arc ,you know that there is nothing that won't stop me from posting it.**

**Once again a huge thank you to all the awesome people that have reviewed, a shout out to **getsuga TENSHOU 15, Fluoricia, DestinyKeyblader28, EthanFlux, Random Reader 17, Leige of the Crimson Nightmare, baileymermaid95, Keyblades of Oblivion, R. Recollect, ChristianLynch and Stepfanny. **Keep up the awesome work, as well as putting up with my truly evil side.**

**In other news, finally got around to getting Instagram. I don't know if any of my readers/subscribers/reviewers have it/care about it, but normally ill post photos of the chapters being worked on while i bitch about it being so long, or cheer when i've finished it, or even praise when a i get a bunch of emails of reviews/follows, so if you'd like photo updates of me working on my stories (among other things) follow me, username is **_jaredsomeone_**, be great to see all of you =).**

**Well thats it for now guys, let me tell you that the next chapter, although not as long, will be so action packed you'll be on the edge of your seat...or at least i hope so, i know i was on the edge of my seat while i was writing it. So until then, ciao!**

**Jared Someone.**

**P.S: I don't know how many of you know that i tend to make nobodies and somebodies the same person by using the somebodies name as their first name, and their nobody name as their last, but for those Nobodies who have yet to be revealed, i tend to already have a list of good somebody names, hence why Larxene's first name is Arlene, thought that might clear it up for those of you who wondered why i had called her that.**

**P.P.S: Apologies if there is a terrible amount of grammar/spelling mistakes in this chapter, half of it was written on my iPad and i did try to get all of the mistakes, but those buggers just love to hide from me.**

**Again, Ciao! :)**


	25. One Hell of a Vacation: Part III

_**J **__enova_

_**x**_

_**XXIV**_

_**x**_

_Sector V Harbor._

_Midgar Resort._

_Present Day._

_**x**_

The wind roared as Sora made his way to the harbor, the young man thankful that he had chosen to wear a jacket as he watched the water move slowly in the breeze, looking out into the distance. He knew that in a couple of minutes the boat would be viewable in the distance, so he chose a seat on the harbor and looked out, tempted to release his hair from the hooded prison and allow it to flow in the breeze, just to feel the cold wind against his head, but the security camera on one of the pillars would be dangerous for the young man.

Soon the view of the boat came into Sora's vision, and he didn't have to wait long before it was coming up to the dock. He was the only person there as a crowd of people who more then likely had been pre-drinking in their own apartment before making their way to the beach party. Sora stood to the side, allowing the people to pass, with his head down to remain ambiguous to the people in front of him. As the last of the people made their way through the park area to the party, Sora slowly got on the boat, heading up to the top area where he sat in the corner, no one remaining on the boat. Sora pressed his head against the glass as he looked out onto the ocean, not expecting anyone to get on so not bothering to look. Soon he felt the boat slowly go out to sea.

He felt his heartbeat speed up again for the umpteenth time that day. He was so deep in thought that occasionally he found himself forgetting to breath. Closing his eyes, he took a short breath. _That seemed to do the trick_ he thought to himself as he felt the air return back to his lungs as he looked out of the window, his eyes widened as he saw the figure of Vanitas starring back at him. Sora gasped in shock before he closed his eyes quickly, and opened them once again. He was alone. He looked around, but there was nobody else there.

Sora looked out the window to see that they were approaching Sector I harbor. Quickly he jumped out of his seat and walked to the opposite end of the boat, flew down the stairs and headed towards the plank, not bothering to look around as he stepped onto the concrete. Ensuring that there was no one around, he quickly raced down the path, looking this way and that, but there was no sign of the bus. He continued running, the more his heart beat the faster the boy seemed to go. Darting this way and that, he soon saw the hotel. But his focus drew off the large building and to the trees and bushes behind it. He made sure no one was looking, but in the darkness along with his clothing, he was sure that no one would be able to see him.

He felt branches and leaves pushing against his jacket as he moved this way and that, the branches that scratched at his face were ignored as the man pushed past the very last of the trees before he stopped.

The entire area was fenced off by 5 foot tall electric fences. The words _'Sector 0 - Authorized access only' _was plastered every 5 meters in a strict line. Ignoring the words, Sora remained in the bushes as he followed the gate, until he found a side entrance, usually for trucks and vehicles delivering packages that had arrived via plane. But for now it was completely silent, save for a single guard, armed with a rifle and dressed in a blue uniform with matching vest and hand gun holster. He looked dead ahead, scanning every now and again. Sora knew these guys meant business, but to be able to keep a clean look out even at midnight, it was clearly impressive.

Sora looked to his phone, counting down from 5 as he watched the guard look at his watch, then move away. This was Sora's chance. The boy knew he had thirty seconds tops before the guards were replaced. Darting as quickly as possible, he passed under the post and made his way across the glass, not daring to get into the building yet. The clearing would have been murder to hide during the daytime, but at night, he could still stand against the gate and not be caught by security.

He covered his mouth as he found one of the darker places, away from the guards making their way towards the entrance. He looked around, taking note of the few guards who were still straggling across the compound, until he saw his opportunity and continued moving, placing his feet carefully before him as he ran to the very side of the long building, before he found it.

The side door wasn't guarded; why would it be? It was a security building and nothing more, and with the guard in the front, no one should have gotten in. Sora smirked as he looked around, before taking two steps, already getting ahead of himself, and in doing so, giving away his position.

"FREEZE!" Sora's eyes widened as he heard the guard shout. He hadn't even seen the 20-something year old patrolman, and yet within minutes he had 5 guards all pointing their weapons at him. They were so close to him that Sora could instantly tell they were the EARTHSHAKER rifles, the latest in ShinraWeaponry. He also knew that one bullet in any area would be seriously damaging for Sora's body, so he kept his mouth shut.

"How the hell did he get in here?" Sora heard the guard ask, and there was murmurs from the others. Sora kept his head down, his hands in the air, not making any sudden move which would get him killed, but continued listening.

"What do we do with him?" One whispered, and the cocking of the gun made Sora jump suddenly, but he remained still nonetheless as he heard the leader of the group say, "Call it in," and Sora sighed. All his planning, and his care, gone, and soon he and Roxas would be taken to Yevon knew where to have experiments done. He had risked Roxas' freedom as well as his own, and he silently apologized to Roxas as he lowered his head and waited for the guard to call in his finding.

Suddenly, the sound of bone breaking was heard as a giant thump echoed throughout the area. Sora looked up in shock, but it was nothing compared to the jaw-dropping surprise that was before him. She knocked two of the guards out before they even had a chance to move, Fly kicked one guard, before she swung her leg full circle in a perfect roundhouse kick, connecting with the mans neck as the full force of the attack caused him to hit the ground hard. Sora's eyes gazed over the bodies as he looked at the woman, who flicked her hair out of the way and allowed a small grin to sit on her face.

"Right, any questions?" Kairi Farron asked, and Sora's stammered for a question, finally resting on, "What are you doing here?"

"Really? Don't wanna ask about the Martial Arts demonstration?" Kairi sweat-dropped as she grabbed one of the guards, and began to pull with all her might into one of the darkened areas of the place, so it would be a lot harder for them to be found later on. When Sora remained silent, she sighed as she said, "Alright, I was worried Sora, I followed you here, which was no easy feat by the way, you're one fast sucker,"

"But i didn't see you aboard the boat," Sora whispered, clearly he was worried there was someone around that could hear them, but Kairi remained calm and clear as she said, "Thats what happens when you dash up to the top area and don't bother to look around, i was in the back on the bottom level, you're not the only one who can hide in plain sight, though from the looks of it, I'd say I do it a bit better," She winked as she dragged the last of the men towards the fence, propping him up along with the other four, and clapped her hands together as she spun around, "I suppose you'd like a reason behind this," She pointed at the five knocked out guards, and Sora nodded his head as he said, "That would be nice," as he walked over to the door, looking at the lock before him as Kairi began.

"When me and Nam became friends, I found out she was training to be a black belt in Martial Arts from her mother, So Th-"

"Woah, Namine's a Martial art's expert as well?" Sora asked, complete shocked that the quite girl could take out just as many guards as Kairi had just done.

"Are you going to let me finish?" She asked the young man, and Sora nodded his head, Silently thanking Yevon that he had not had his family jewels handed to him on a platter after accidentally kissing the young girl on new years.

"So, Three times a week for 5 years, Tifa taught both myself and Namine advanced forms of Martial Arts, until we had learnt all we had to know. Though from time to time she wants to keep training me, but from this demonstration, i'd say she's taught me everything she needs to," Kairi smirked as Sora nodded, Kairi placing her hands on her hips as she said, "Now i've got a question for you, what the hell are you doing here?"

Sora sighed as he looked to her. There was only a few plausible answers Sora could give that would be acceptable, and all of which involved the truth in some form. Choosing his words carefully, he said, "Kairi, there's something in there I need, i don't know what, but I know that it is in there,"

"So you've decided to break into this heavily guarded area to find something, but you have no idea what," and Sora nodded his head as he said, "Yeah, that about explains," and Kairi sighed as she looked at the man, "...well, I'm in,"

"What, no, Kai-" Sora was stopped as the woman placed a hand on his lips, saying as she did, "Sora, you are my friend, and someone i care about very much, if you're going to risk your life for Yevon knows what, you might as well have me beside you," and with that, the young woman turned to the guards, looking at them for a moment before she walked over to them and began to search them.

Knowing that he was defeated, he sighed as he removed his picks, taking out a torsion wrench and looking at the lock for a second, decided that a hook pick would be the best one to use against the lock, glad that it wasn't anything advanced. Beginning work, Sora called out to her still in a whisper, "You've never given off any hint that you're a black belt though Kairi," to which the girl chuckled, "Im a woman first Sora, do you know how hard it is for a guy to like you when he knows you can rip his testicles off as easy as pulling a turnip out of a vegetable patch,"

Shuddering at the analogy, before he smirked as he continued work, knowing he was halfway there as he muttered back, "Well i don't know about most men, but the fact you can knock out 5 guards without breaking a sweat makes you sexy in my books,"

"You're sweet," Kairi called out, and Sora could help but smirk, hearing the grin forming on the young girls face as he felt the final pin of the pin tumbler lock push up, and twisted both the wrench and the pick, unlocking the door. Sora smirked in success as he placed his picks back into their case. He turned to Kairi in success, but the young girl hadn't noticed as she threw one of the guns towards him, Sora managing to catch it just in time as she said, "This is for you,"

"Kairi, Im not-" But Kairi smirked as she muttered, "Relax, it's a PHOTON handgun, they shoot out electrical capsules that upon contact with the skin attach and send out enough volts to knock someone out for a few hours," Sora looked up to see the woman had picked up two of the weapons, one sitting in a holster she had taken from one of the guards, and the other being checked.

"How do you know-" Sora began, but once again Sora was silenced as Kairi beat him to it, "About firearms? My mother's a cop Sora, i've been to police gun ranges since I was eight years old, i can hit a guard square in the chest from 20 Yards without the need of a scope," Kairi admitted proudly as she held the last one in her hand, ready to go in. For a moment Sora was about ready to tell her to go home, but the way she had handled herself, it was clear that not only could she hold her own within the area, but also she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

So smirking, Sora muttered as he opened the door, "This is a drastic change from the sweet innocent girl i've come to know," and Kairi smirked as she walked past him, holding out both guns as looked down the hallway, saying as she did, "Must be the adrenaline, always turns me into a badarse," and Sora smirked as he followed suit.

The two slowly walked down the hallway, Kairi having placed the hood of her light purple jacket over her head as both looked out for camera, Kairi whispered to the young man, "No one my end, where to?" and Sora looked this way and that before he nodded his head to the left, and with that the two made their way down the hallway.

As the reached the end of a hallway, Sora peered around to see one guard standing there, looking bored. Sora sighed as he wondered the best way to do it, before Kairi stepped past him, aimed and fired. Sora barely had time to look around before the man was on the ground, electricity surging through his body as Kairi stepped up to him, looking around, glad that the Camera was at the other end, and he was standing in a place where he couldn't be seen. Dragging his body into a conveniently placed closest, Sora ran up to her as he said, "You're one cold mother Kairi," and the woman held the gun to her shoulder as she said, "Do you think so?"

Rolling his eyes, Sora stuck to the side of the wall as they made their way down the hallways. He was sure surprised that an alarm had not been sounded yet, and thanked Yevon for lazy sleeping guards. Kairi continued looking out, avoiding cameras as she turned around, Sora following her as he sighed.  
It ended with a single door, locked with a keycard. Sora sighed as he made to turn around, but Kairi smirked as she walked forward, placing her guns back in their holsters and removing a black card from her pocket. Kissing it for good luck, she swiped the card, and the red light turned green as the door clicked unlock. She smirked as she withdrew one of her handguns, saying as she did, "That's why you always search guards, they're bound to have a key," and with that she opened the door.

The room was rather small and empty, with half a dozen other rooms, all with Card locks. Sora closed the door as he looked around, wondering what they were going to do. Kairi looked at the door closest to her, and walked over to it as she holstered her gun, she took out the card again and swiped it, the red light staying and a short noise indicating that they weren't allowed access. Kairi looked around as she said, "Guess it's a dead end," and was about to make her way out, when she was stopped by Sora, who pointed something out.

Not all of the lights were red, one of them was green, and as they slowly made their way towards it, they noticed that the door was slightly opened. Sora and Kairi looked around, before Kairi looked at the name on the door, and muttered, "Dr Aquarius Villiers," and looking to Sora, pushed the door slowly open.

The office was empty save for the two. Sora didn't shut the door for fear of being trapped in the office. Once they were inside, Sora spied the computer and walked over to it. He saw the blank screen, but when he tapped the space bar, the entire computer came to life. Sora sat down as Kairi continued to spy through the door, muttering as she did, "You find anything,"

Sora looked through the files, but most of them were empty. Wherever the information was, it wasn't on this computer. Maybe this woman, whoever she was wasn't even apart of the Jenova project, though why would they need a Doctor for a holiday resort? Sora got the feeling she wasn't a medical Doctor, but something different.

As Sora was about to suggest they move on, Sora spied a program on the computer marked "DATA-SCAPE" He looked at it for a moment, and dragged the mouse as he clicked on it.

Instantly a search bar came up, and Sora looked at it for a moment before he looked down at the keyboard before him. This 'Date-scape' must have been some type of database, with access to all sorts of information under Shinra. This was what Sora needed.

Grazing his hands over the keyboard, he typed in 'Jenova'. Instantly the screen came up with '_LEVEL 0 PASS-CODE REQUIRED_' and an area to type in a passcode. Sora groaned as he returned back to the search bar, and tried to type in 'Vanitas' and 'Ventus' but again the same words came up. Sora leaned back in the chair as Kairi looked over to him, "Did you find what you needed to?" and Sora looked for a moment, before he turned back and typed in three words.

'_Doctor Aquarius Villiers'_

Instantly a page came up with a detailed report on the woman. She looked quite beautiful; Short blue hair, matching blue eyes, and was wearing a pair of oval glasses. Sora looked over at the young woman, and her profile as he muttered to himself, "Graduated from Oblivion University with a Mark of Mastery in Bio-chemistry, was handpicked by Shinra to work in their Pharmaceutical Devision before moving to Bio-Weapons in Shinra's Weaponry Devision, then there's nothing for 2 years before she's made head of the Mako Energy Reading Station on the Destiny Islands," Sora leaned back in shock. This woman, whoever she was was a genius, clearly she was far too intelligent for an Energy Monitoring Station, and what had she done in the 2 years in between? There seemed to be nothing there to show where she had been.

"Sora!" the young man was brought out of his own thoughts as Kairi said in a small amount of panic, "I think we have a commotion out there, you better hurry!" and Sora leaned back on the computer, scrolling through, hoping to find where the young woman was doing now, whether she was still at the Monitoring Station, was stationed here, or somewhere else. As he scrolled through the last bits of information, he stopped as his eyes widened.

"_Re-assignment orders; report to Hallow Bastion Psychological Rehabilitation Asylum for Patient Examination and Yearly reports"_

That was it. For one she wasn't a doctor of psychology, she was one of chemistry. What was she doing at a place with Psychological cases, and the place that Sora had been brought up none the less. He knew, right then and there, this Aquarius, or Aqua as her report constantly called her, had something to do with his condition, and he knew the answers were back where he had lived for half of his life, in Hallow Bastion.

Sora felt someone pull him up, saying as they did, "Sora, we have to go now, we've been here way too long and it's getting way too loud out their for my own liking," to which Sora nodded his head as he turned off the computer and slipped his hood on. Kairi opened the door as she slipped hers on, and both looked around, before they made their way out of the office and towards the door.

But as they were about to exit, Sora felt Kairi pull away. He turned around to see a daze look in her eyes, as she muttered, "...Sora?". Sora gasped as he looked up to see a cloaked figure standing behind her, a needle injected into her arm. "Kairi! ...what did you...do," Sora felt himself getting oozy, and looked down to see the needle in his own arm. His world began to faze as his knees hit the floor. He looked up, and saw only two cloaked figures, before he lost consciousness, the laughter in his head louder then ever.

_**x**_

_Interrogation Room II, Sector 0._

_Midgar Resort._

_Present Day._

_**x**_

"Have you got him secured?"

"He won't be moving, should be waking up soon,"

"So this is one of the Subjects, huh,"

"Yeah, and soon we should have the other one,"

"Doesn't look like a solider too me,"

"Quiet, he's waking up,"

Blue eyes slowly began to blink as the young blonde haired man looked around. He was tied to a bench that was elevated up. His arm's felt heavy, like he had been lifting something up for the past couple of hours. He tried to move his hands, but felt them hit the metal bars across his hands. Struggling to do the same with his feel, he knew that he was trapped.

"Where am I?" the boy asked, and when no one answered him, he racked his brains, trying to remember what had happened; He had stumbled away from the party, trying to find somewhere private to go to the bathroom, and...something hard had hit him on the back of his head...he had been abducted.

"Let me out...Let me out!" The blonde called out, and one of the men, who was busy typing something on his tablet, looked at the young man with a smirk as he said, "Comply with our questions and we'll set you free," but the way the man laughed made the blonde think that there was no way he was being let go. Well if he was going to go, he was going to go with honor to his friends, and not give these heartless bastards a thing.

Once they had finished typing on their computers, one of the scientists, a short fat man dressed in a tanned suit wearing a lab coat, with thin greying hair and blue eyes looked over the boy as he smirked, saying as he did, "Now then Roxas Gainsborough...tell me who is the other Subject,"

Roxas remained silent as he looked down, not even allowing his eyes to give anything away. He would take Sora's secret to the grave, even if it was only a few moments away. There was silence in the air for a few moments as he heard the man say, "We will get the information one way or another, why put yourself through pain for him?" but even this did not cause him to move, continuing to move to the ground as the man sighed, saying as he did, "Alright then," and heard the man click his fingers as Roxas slowly looked up to see a tray being brought to him. On it were several syringes, each filled with different kinds of liquid.

The man picked up one as he squirted it, Roxas seeing the words '_Blizzaga' _ written on the side in fancy cursive writing. Roxas took a deep breath as he felt the liquid enter his body, tears of pain dropping down his eyes as he felt cold ice beginning to burn under his skin. He felt his teeth chattering as he groaned in pain and discomfort, it was as if he had been stripped naked and thrown in the middle of a blizzard.

_Ventus _The boy mentally thought, _help me_ and instantly he felt Ventus by his side, holding his hand as he said, "_You can get through this Roxas, trust me_," and the boy nodded his head, as he tried not to give them the satisfaction.

The scientist looked at the young man for a moment, before he said, "Seems like I underestimated you Roxas, why don't we try something a lot more...harder," and with that he picked up another one, Roxas seeing the words '_Firaga' _on this one. Roxas squeezed his eyes closed as again the needle pierced his skin, though this pain was unbearable. The burning fire, like the Blizzaga felt like it was burning his very bones. Roxas cried out in pain as he wished for death to overcome him, but again Ventus held on to the boys hand as he said, "_You can do this Roxas, don't give up now," _and Roxas blubbered a plea as he nodded his head, before looking at the scientist, who looked over at another man as he said, "What is going on? He should be screaming for us to stop,"

"I don't know sir, it's having an effect, but something is giving him mental strength," the man tapped at the glass tablet as the scientist looked back, smirking as he looked at the drained boy, before saying, "Well then, I guess we need something stronger," and Roxas weakly watched as he picked up a third syringe, Roxas just making out the words '_Graviga' _written on it, Roxas dropping his head against the table as he waited and watched as the man moved closer, the tip of the needle almost against his skin.

And then, out of nowhere, a hand flew out and grabbed the mans arm, pulling him back. Roxas weakly managed to look up to see a tall blue haired woman with glasses look at him, pure anger surging throughout her body as she hissed, "What in Yevon's name do you think you're playing at Palmer?"

"Aqua!" The man said in shock, before he corrected himself, "Dr. Villiers, we needed the information, and i though-" The man had suddenly gone from confident to scared at the woman before him as she cut him off, "Right after you had killed the Subject with that Graviga, I would have kicked your arse all the way to ShinraCorp, where the President himself would have thrown you out of the building,"

"By Dr. Villiers, he could have handled it," Palmer said, though even he didn't feel confident about that. Certainly Aqua was not convinced, "We have no idea what his body can and cannot handle, and until we know for sure, we are going to assume he is as normal as you or me...and for that matter, what the hell is he even doing here? I didn't approve of you interrogating the boy,"

"He was wondering away from the others, we saw a chance and I made a decision, President Shinra is eager to get-" but this seemed to be what broke the young woman.

"I know what Shinra wants Palmer! But there is certain way this has to be done, you can't kidnap a young man when all his friends are meters away, what if someone had seen you? Do you have any idea what Shinra would have been in for!"

"I am sorry Dr. Villiers," Palmer bowed, and Aqua ran a hand through her hair as she looked down at the boy, before saying, "What's done is done, just inject him with C.o.M and get him back to his room," and she walked off as Palmer nodded his head, and took one of the needles, Roxas slowly began to lose consciousness as he felt the needle enter his arm, he began to feel everything get brighter, and all of a sudden, he shot out of bed, his eyes wide and sweat pouring from his head.

He felt sick as he looked around. He could have sworn that moments ago he was on a table being experimented on...no it was Interrogated wasn't it? Roxas had no idea as he began to forget what had happened. Had he been kidnapped? No, he was in his room...how had he gotten in his room? He had been going to the toilet...and he felt his head pound in pain...a headache, and then he felt sick...so he had returned to his room to get some sleep, yeah that was it. But the dream...it had felt so real as if...what was it about again? the more he thought about it, the more it began to slip away, something about being experimented on or something. He tried to contact Ventus, but something was keeping him away.

"Must be too deep in sleep," Roxas muttered as he scratched his arm, before falling a sleep, not even noticing the place a small insertion about the size of a needle slowly began to fade away, replaced by normal skin as soon, any thoughts to what Roxas had felt washed away and replaced with Bliss.

_**x**_

_That morning..._

_**x**_

The window had been left open as the breeze pushed the curtain in the bedroom away. Sunlight had broken into the room as Sora groaned, he groaned in happiness as he stretched, his arms brushing against soft skin. He blinked in confusion as he looked down at Kairi, and for a moment he thought the drunken night had ended in the two of them making love, but soon he remembered what had occurred the night before, and he tried to shake the girl awake.

"Kairi, wake up, we're in my room," and the young woman stretched as she looked up to Sora, and smirked as she said, "We've gotta stop making a habit of this,"

"Glad you can see the humor in this," Sora rolled his eyes as the young girl got up, followed by Sora. The boy sighed at the nights exploits, upset that he hadn't gotten anything from them, until he remembered what he had learnt, that this Aqua, whoever she was, was currently stationed at Hallow Bastion.

Sora turned around as he noticed the young woman fiddling with something in her pocket, and when Sora called out her name she pulled her hand out, and turned around as she said, "So, were you successful with whatever you were looking for?" and Sora nodded his head, saying as he did, "I have a new lead," and Kairi smirked as she walked up to the young man, saying as she did, "Then i'll be right next to you when we make that next move,"

Sora's eyes widened as he shook his head, saying as he did, "No, Kai, i can't let you risk your life for me,"

"When are you going to realize Sora that you are my friend, and i'm not going to let you get into trouble for me," Kairi placed her hand on her hips as Sora shook his head, "This isn't about friendship and trust Kai, i can't let you hurt yourself,"

"Sora, I can take care of myself," She smirked, and Sora shook his head as he grabbed her arm, saying as he did, "I thank you for your help last night, but i'll be doing this on my own," and with that he led her out of the room, and closed the door.

Sora ran a hand through his hair as he leaned against the door, sure that there was a Guardian Angel looking out for them, or at least Kairi. Sora was sure that he would have been caught almost a dozen different times, and yet somehow they managed to avoid everything, and even managed to somehow return back to their room.

As he moved to his bedroom to begin packing, he couldn't help but wonder how exactly they had managed to get back. He might have called it luck, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that whomever had drugged the two had obviously been the ones to bring them back. But why had they not been turned in? Clearly this Guardian Angel was a lot closer then Sora thought, maybe someone inside the actual facility. Whoever they were, they didn't want Shinra to get their hands on Sora.

The young man was soon packed and ready, where he took one last look around the futuristic room before making his way out of the door. He waited by the lift for the others, who came out of their rooms one by one, clearly the night had been good to them. Sora smirked as his eyes gazed all over them, before he looked at Roxas. Something about the boy seemed off, he looked happy chatting away to Namine, but the bags under his eyes showed that something was up.

As their eyes locked, Roxas said something as he kissed the young girl on the cheek. Sora smirked as he remembered the reveal the two had been dating, and although Roxas had been drunk when he had said it, he wasn't going to hide the fact from the others. Sora watched as the young girl began talking with Kairi, as Roxas walked over to him and muttered, "So, what happened?"

"I have a place, just not sure how i'm going to use it yet," Sora muttered back as they waited for the elevator to reach them, as he looked at the young man and said, "Are you ok? you seem a bit edgy,"

"Just a bad nightmare," Roxas nodded as he scratched his arm, smiling as the tiny 'ding' sound was heard, and the empty elevator opened up.

As everyone piled in, Sora saw that with all their luggage, their wasn't enough room for all. Kairi, who had been at the back of the group talking to Namine, told the others that she would wait, and when Sora and Namine had offered to stay with her, she smiled as she responded, "Don't worry about it, i think i've left something in my room anyway, i'll meet you downstairs," and turned, not giving the two enough time to argue as the doors closed.

Pressing the down button, she reached into her pocket as she waited for the elevator to open up. Digging into her pocket, she withdrew a clear card, with the words '_Type-0' _embedded into it. She had been planning on telling Sora that the card had mysteriously been placed into her pocket, but when he had told him he would be continuing on his own, she had held on to it.

Someone clearly wanted the two to get into Aqua's office, and someone clearly wanted Sora to head off to whatever place he had found on the computer, that much was obvious. If Kairi had to guess, she assumed that the card opened up doors to a private area where Sora would be going to next, which would make finding whatever he was looking for much easier, and also it was a job that Sora wouldn't be able to do on his own, else it wouldn't be in her pocket.

Smirking at the card as the doors of the elevator opened, she walked in as she chucked the card into the air and caught it, smirking as she said to herself, "Well Sora, If you won't take my help willingly, I'll just have to force my help onto you," and the floor caught the last of Kairi's grin as the doors slowly closed.

_**x**_

**There you are guys, told you that id be posting in the morning.**

**So what did you all think of the chapter? Very confronting stuff huh? It's really getting to the end soonish, but there are still some things we gotta learn. I'll let you know now that very soon a lot of questions are going to be answered, a lot of things are going to come to light, things that i've had planned since the very first chapter of Jenova, and hopefully you will enjoy it just as much as i ave been torturing you with this information =P**

**Once again a big thank you to the people who read, subscribed and reviewed, including **DestinyKeyblader28, EthanFlux, lion5589, R. Recollect, Keyblades of Oblivion and Random Reader 17

**Hopefully it won't be too long before the next chapter is posted, it will be a good chapter i promise you, i am quite excited for both the next chapter and the chapter after that, and it will be great. Follow me on Instagram if you want to see updates of my writing (And other stuff) same as my username, until the next chapter you lovely people.**

**Jared someone.**


	26. Breaking Into the Mad House

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_XXV_**

**_x_**

_Twilight Heights High School_

_Destiny Islands_

_Present Day._

**_x_**

"...and the slide would just shoot you into the pool! It was so awesome!"

Sora smirked as he looked out the window of his class, while he listened to Roxas telling the students for the thirteenth time that day about his exploits at the Midgar Resort. Despite the fact that it had been almost two weeks since they had been there, he was still able to recount the events there in absolute detail.

"And they served us food while they massaged us _while _in the apartment,"

Well, maybe not everything.

Sora chuckled to himself as he listened to the young blonde's recount, continuing to stare out the window. There were a couple of students lying back on the field as they enjoyed the sunlight on their back. Sora sighed as he shivered, feeling the cold air of the air-conditioning as he looked around the classroom.

Since they had returned, most classes had become study periods, where teachers would chose to either revise them on topics they had learnt throughout the year, or the teacher would turn up for five minutes, tell them to study, and then leave them to do whatever they felt like. Sora shuddered as he closed his eyes. Every time he did so his mind would split between two things. It was either his Pre-Mastery Exam, which would eventually decide which University he would be going to do whatever Mark of Mastery Course he decided on, or it was Hallow Bastion.

Sora had to admit that his studying had taken a hard hit after he had found out that the clues were in the mental asylum. Every afternoon would begin with him opening one of his books, and usually end with Sora checking out Hallow Bastion, the exact details of how he had gone from one to the other oblivious to the young man. So far he had learnt a lot about the place, like it was funded by ShinraCorp ("Obviously," Sora had said to himself when he had read it) and that it had mainly a 'good faith' gift to the world when they were being investigated by the WRO.

Of course, Sora didn't buy for one minute that Shinra had offered the area as good faith, especially seeing as he had been brought up there, the same place that told him he was insane and a danger to society. Well, the second part may be true, but Sora knew there was so much more to it then that.

Sora was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of the bell. Looking down, he noticed that the page he had pulled out at the beginning of the lesson was still blank. He growled at the paper, as if it was mocking him for not getting closer to either studying or finding out about Hallow Bastion. So sighing, Sora muttered, "Another hour spent doing nothing," before he placed the paper in his bag and stood up, He was one of the first to be out of the classroom, other students tending to their bags and pens.

Sora found a comfortable part of the wall where he leaned against it, waiting until the other students had stopped bothering the young Roxas with questions, before Roxas wiped his head, saying as he did, "Man, those guys keep asking me questions, i'll never get any work done,"

"Well, it might help if you stop making up things about the Midgar Resort," Sora smirked.

"What are you talking about? I didn't make up a thing," Roxas looked almost hurt as Sora raised his eyebrow.

"'The staff there feed you bacon and eggs while you're in the spa relaxing'?" Sora quoted the young man, as Roxas brushed him off.

"I may have bent the truth a little bit,"

"More like snapped it in half," Sora chuckled as they made their way out of the building, and Roxas looked at the boy for a moment, Sora having noticed instantly, but chose to wait a few moments before responding, "What?"

"Don't you normally have two free's now?" Roxas asked, the true question was why Sora was bothering to stay around when he could be going home.

"Who says I can't enjoy my lunch?" Sora shrugged, and Roxas eyed the young man for a moment before he opened the door and both walked into the cafeteria.

The place was more bare then it normally would have been. The couch areas in the corner which had usually been taken by students who claimed that spot in free periods for their friends were almost empty, so it was no surprise that their group had claimed one of the free areas. Sora and Roxas made their way to Kairi and Axel, both who had their heads down in papers, and muttered a weak hello as they flipped over their past assignments, trying to memorize papers after papers in the desperate attempt they would appear in their exam.

"History got you down?" Sora smirked as he took one of the seats, and Axel slammed his paper down in frustration, saying as he did, "Why do I even give a damn why Gaian's settled in the Destiny Islands years ago?"

"Cause it might be important in the future?" Roxas added in comfort, and Axel shot the boy a dirty look as he continued back with the papers. Sora looked over to the young woman who was softly muttering the words on her paper, and Sora coughed as he placed a cold hand on her shoulder.

Kairi shot up as she tried to give him a comforting smile, saying as she did, "Sorry Sora, this paper will be the death of me if I don't take notes from it," and she returned to the paper as Sora bit his lip, before an idea formed in the young boy's head.

"Well, what if I help you out? Ask you questions?" Sora smiled, and Kairi looked at the young man with a relieving smile.

"Thank you Sora," The girl gave the young man an awkward sitting hug as she pushed the book into his hands.

Taking a look at it, he noticed that it was her Business Studies book. Sora flicked through the pages, looking for something to test the young girl on, before his eyes caught something in the page, and he stared in awe before he coughed, and asked, "Describe the beginnings of the Shinra Corporation, and how its development made it one of the leading businesses on the Planet,"

Kairi thought about it before she said her answer, Sora reading along as she began, "ShinraCorp began as the Shinra Electric Power Company, the CEO Rufus Shinra I a businessman and Entrepreneur before then. Buying out independent energy companies around his hometown of Neibelheim, he made a small profit supplying Electrical energy to the town,"

"However, Shinra soon began to believe in theories that there was an undiscovered element deep within the the planet that effectively was the reason behind why the world spun. Funding Millions of Munny to drilling into the planet, Shinra discovered the Lifestream, an energy source that gave life to the planet, and ensured that it did indeed turn, among other things,"

Kairi looked at the young man, who nodded his head as he gave her the sign to continue, and she did, "Soon, Shinra was able to convert the lifestream into what he called 'Mako', which Shinra described was a self-sustaining energy source that could power a small town for a year. Building Mako-Reactors, large machines that could hold the Mako Energy, Shinra was able to power it's own factories, as well as the town of Radient Garden, and dozens upon dozens of businesses and small cities across Gaia. This made the Shinra Electric Power Company the leading distributor of Energy on the planet,"

Sora smiled as the young woman, who seemed to gain confidence from the smile on Sora, as she continued, "After the death of Rufus Shinra, his son, Rufus Shinra II was made CEO, where he used the Mako Energy to broaden the company, including Weapons Manufacturing and Technological advances, changing the name of the company to ShinraCorp, and turning it into one of the largest businesses on the planet, growing every day,"

Sora smirked as he hugged the girl, saying as he did, "You've done brilliantly," and Kairi gave a small blush as she hugged the man. Neither moving away for a few moments, but when the felt the stares of their two friends drilling into them, they quickly let go as Sora scratched the back of his head, and Kairi looking around before she picked up the book and threw it to Sora, who caught it as the young girl said, "Come on, give me another one," and Sora chuckled as he went to find another question, when suddenly he felt a pain hit the back of his head.

It was the same dull ache that he had felt for a while now, ever since his birthday, the pain would swap between his chest and head. He assumed Vanitas had something to do with it, probably due to the fact that Sora had not felt him in weeks after his birthday. It was as if his M.O had swapped from talking in his head to pains in his body.

"...Sora?" The young boy had to look up as he noticed Kairi looking at him. The worry on her face made the young man smile, shaking his head at the young girl, who looked over the man confused.

"Sorry Kai, guess I'm just feeling out of it at the moment," Sora said weakly, other things on his mind then Kairi's business exam. Sora made to stand up, Kairi took a good look at him, before she nodded her head. As Sora began to walk away, he could feel the gaze coming from Kairi. He knew the woman wasn't going to leave him alone about it, but the quicker he got out of the area the more likely that she wouldn't follow him.

As he made his way through _Sword Building_, passing this way and that as he walked towards his locker. As he reached it, His eyes gazed up from the locker to who was making his way behind him: Seifer Almasy, flanked by his two friends. Sora kept his head in his locker has he placed his hand on the helmet. He felt the three making their way past him, and Sora looked to his side, his eyes connecting with the young man's, and both allowed the stare to last a moment before Seifer let out a short sneer before he looked forward, his two friends not even bothering to see what had gained his attention for the split moment.

As Sora looked at his helmet that sat in his locker, he realized that it had been a while since he had seen the young man. True that they didn't share any classes, but there had been a time where Sora could not take two steps without feeling the knuckles of the man against his back or head. Ever since he had snapped and attacked back, Seifer had not even looked at the young man, let alone push or prod him. Sora was surprised that he hadn't tried to crash the birthday party, or even that he had seen him anywhere at any of the parties, but Sora realized that Seifer wasn't much of a social butterfly, and more then likely their encounter had made him more then a little bit nervous to confront the boy once again. Not that Sora was complaining, but just like Vanitas had stopped appearing near the young man, Seifer had done the same. Was the fact that Sora was more confident then the very first day of Critical Year at Twilight Heights High the reason why he was no longer visited by either of the two demons. He that he had never felt so confident when he was living in Edge, which was why Vanitas had dominated most of his life there. Sora smirked as he closed his locker, looking at the helmet, and glad that the confidence had allowed him more control over Vanitas then his meditation ever had.

"What did that loser want?" Sora's eyes widened as he looked behind him, Kairi looking towards Sora with her hands on her hips watching where Seifer had walked through the doors, and Sora shrugged.

"Dunno, he just walked past," Sora placed his helmet under his arm.

"Been a while since he caused problems for you," Kairi muttered, and Sora nodded as both looked towards the doors, before Sora made his way towards them. He could feel Kairi following behind him, so he stopped short of the entrance and turned around.

"Where are you going?" Sora asked, and Kairi stopped short of the young man as she again placed her hands on her hips in a protecting fashion.

"Wherever you are going of course," She responded, and Sora shook his head at the young woman, somehow knowing that she didn't mean go home with him.

"Kairi, we talked about this, I'm going at this alone," Sora didn't even have time to draw a breath before Kairi responded.

"Sora, when are you going to realize that we are here for you?" Sora sighed as he looked down, Kairi placing her hand on his shoulder as she bent down to see his eyes, the blue orbs which looked like they were distracted from more then the upcoming exams.

"Talk to me Sora, What is going on?" Kairi asked softly, and Sora sighed as he rubbed his head, before he slowly began to talk, picking his words carefully.

"Hallow Bastion," He started, and Kairi looked at him confused, needing more information. Kairi waited patiently before he continued, "That's where Dr. Villiers'...the lead that I told you about...is stationed...I think she has something to do with...the way I am...and if she does, then I have to find her and ask her why i'm like this,"

"How do you expect to get in there?" Kairi asked.

"It's simple, Hallow Bastion holds daily tours of their area's for those thinking of placing loved ones in their capable hands, I'll go there pretending I have a sick brother, and the first chance I get I'll break away from the group and find what I'm looking for,"

"And you think by breaking into one of the largest secured facilities on the planet you can have a chance to find her," Kairi shook her head in shock.

"You don't understand," Sora said, and Kairi looked at the young man for a moment before she said softly, "Then help me understand,"

Sora took a frustrated sigh as he closed his eyes, he could once again feel the pain swapping between his head and his body, as he shook his head.

"Kairi, this is just too dangerous for you, and for the others, i'll be better on my own," and before Kairi could have time to retort Sora turned and ran out the door. Kairi barely had time to reach the parking lot before he saw Sora start the engine of his Fenrir, before he was making his way down the road and out of sight.

Kairi looked at the young man with a troubled look on her face, before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a clear looking card, the same one that she had found in her pocket the morning after their escapades at the Midgar Resort, the one she had carried around for the past two weeks, wondering whether she would tell Sora about it, despite her initial thoughts of using it as a bargaining chip to find out why Sora had spent so much trouble getting into the area.

Clearly whoever had drugged them and gotten the two out of the security building had wanted Kairi to accompany Sora where he went, which meant that it was a Job for more then two. But Sora wouldn't willingly accept her help, that much was clearly obvious. But Sora's plan had flaws, the major one being that he would need identification or he would never get past the front door. If he wanted to get to this Dr. Villiers, then he would need her help.

Sliding her hand into her jeans pocket she withdrew her phone, and scrolled through the countless names before she held the phone to her ear, "It's me," Kairi said after a few rings, "I need your expertise...how quickly can you get me fake I.D's?"

**_x_**

_Strife Household._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

As the sun had barely risen above the Strife Household, Sora was doing anything but sleeping. His eyes glanced to his Phone every few moments, as if he had told himself despite being awake for the past few hours, he could not get out of bed until 7am. He stared up at the ceiling as he sighed, blinking ever so often as he closed his eyes, feeling the pain settling in his eyes as he broke his unwritten rule and got up, the pain shifting to his stomach as he heard laughter in front of him. Sora slowly opened his eyes, to be face to face with Vanitas, who was already dressed in a fine black suit.

"Pain bothering you again?" Vanitas sneered in a clearly uncaring way, and Sora ignored the man as he muttered back, "Why do you even give a damn?"

"Your pain amuses me, but surely you must realize by now that if you die i die with you," Vanitas returned as Sora winced, clutching his bare chest as he looked at the well dressed demon in front of him.

"Clearly you know what's going on, so again...why do you even care?" Sora could feel the anger growing deep within him, and Vanitas smirked as he leaned against the door, seeing the in-pain man as he closed his eyes and smiled, feeling better then anything, he opened them and stared his gold eye's into Sora's blue ones, "You haven't been this angry in a long time...how could i resist a visit?"

"So, that's why you've been gone," Sora responded and Vanitas nodded his head, saying nonchalantly, "Your friends seem to be some sort of will against me, but even they cannot help you when the battle is in your very body," and the hallucination stared at the boy, not bothering to look at anything else.

"You've been busy Sora, breaking into the high security area of the Midgar Resort, plan's to break into Hallow Bastion, and yet none of this will matter,"

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked, and Vanitas smirked, "Didn't I tell you before your birthday, something would happen in the coming weeks,"

"Nothing has happened," Sora muttered back lamely, but even he didn't need Vanitas to tell him what he already knew.  
"The pain in your stomach...it's not really in your stomach is it Sora," Vanitas walked towards him, and Sora winced again, as if looking at Vanitas was somehow causing him more physical pain then he was used to, not just in the mind, but through his very bones, like growing pains but worse.

"Your entire body is changing," Vanitas smirked and Sora threw back quickly, "That's what puberty does,"

"But it's not just puberty is it Sora," Vanitas swung back just as quickly, the boy now behind him and whispering into his ear, "Your molecular structure is changing the likes of which no human has ever experienced before, soon a voice in your head won't be the only thing different about you, and you know it,"

"What...are you talking about," Sora shook his head, clinging to consciousness with every ounce of will, and Vanitas smirked as he returned back in front of Sora, leaning forward.

"Your strength when you took on Seifer, when you tried to attack Roxas, even when you attacked that boy on the struggle team, your Speed when you were running to the security booth at the Midgar resort, and to the Angel harborer," Sora assumed he was talking about Roxas once again, and he took a breath as he leaned against a wall for support.

"Well, even if you cannot realize now...you will...very soon," and the words were the last thing of Vanitas to leave the room, Sora finding strength once again as he stood in the empty room. He shook his head as he found his clothing in the cupboard, hoping to at least dress somewhat reasonably as he made his way to the shower.

When he returned, he was dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a buttoned up black shirt. He kept his biker boots, and also took the coat Riku had given him the first time he had gone to his mansion. Buttoning it up, he made his way to the mirror. If felt weird not seeing a plainly dressed biker looking boy staring back. He looked like a respectable young man, not an office man, but someone who looked fairly important.

"What's the occasion?" was the first words he heard when he made his way down the stairs. Cloud was watching television, Sora recalling a conversation at dinner where his father had said that he had managed to get the day off. Sora shrugged as he walked into the kitchen, "Just felt like dressing warm, gonna be cold today,"

"Is it?" Cloud called back, and Sora nodded his head as he placed his bag over his shoulder, making sure it sat nicely as he returned back to his dad, "Any plans for today?"

Cloud shrugged, "Might go and see Aerith at the hospital," and Sora rolled his eyes, "Make sure you don't distract her while she's saving someones life,"

"Arn't you meant to be telling me to be back home before dark," Cloud smirked, Sora looking up for a moment as he coughed.

"Yeah, and make sure you use protection as well," He walked to the door, as he heard Cloud made a childish 'eww' as Sora rolled his eyes, saying a quick goodbye and making sure the door was closed before he made his way towards the garage.

Once he was sure that he wouldn't be surprised, he took off his bag and tucked it into a corner to make sure no one would see it, though Cloud only made his way to the garage if he was going to work. Sora looked from the Ute to the Fenrir sitting beside it, and not even bothering to find the helmet, he unbuttoned his coat and pushed the bike from the garage. After closing the door, he swung his leg over, started the vehicle, and roared down the street.

The coat fluttered behind him as he drove down the different streets, barely paying attention to the cars around him, as if where they were second nature to the young man. Sora sighed as he looked beyond him to the Dark Margin Harbor. He found the parking area and parked slowly, taking the keys out of the ignition and slipping them into his pocket as he got off the bike, not even bothering to button up the jacket again as he walked towards the ticket area, when suddenly he stopped, eyes wide open in surprise with a small amount anger.

Standing at the entrance was Kairi, Riku and Roxas. Kairi had a grin on her that read victory clearly, Riku had his hands in his jacket pocket with a confident smirk while Roxas was the only one who looked the slightest bit nervous, but at the same time he was glad to be there.

"What-" Sora began, but he was stopped by Kairi who grinned at the young man as she said, "Axel, Namine and Xion would have loved to be here, but they've sent their luck and hope it goes well,"

"What are you guys doing here?" Sora asked loudly so he wouldn't be interrupted again, and Riku lowered his hands the way someone might try to quieten their friend, "Considering we're all suppose to be at school at the moment, you might want to lower your voice,"  
"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Sora asked again, though this time in a whisper to contradict the loud voice he had had moments before.

"We're here to break into Hallow Bastion, or at least that's what Kairi has told me," Riku smirked, and Sora looked from the man to Kairi, placing his hands on his eyes as he felt the pain return in his bones as he muttered, "Kairi, for the last time, there is no way in _hell _that I-"

"How exactly do you plan to get through the doors Sora?" Kairi asked Sora and he raised his lock picks in response.

"And what if they are technological?" Kairi asked, and Sora pushed past Riku as he said, "I'll find a way,"

"Wouldn't it be so much easier if you had a card type key to get you through?" Kairi called out, which halted Sora in his place.

The man didn't move for a few moments, but when he turned around, the three saw the look in his eye. It was half curious as to what Kairi had just called out, but mostly he was pissed off. As he reached her, he took a moment to compose himself, before he said rather slowly and quietly, "What are you talking about Kairi?"

The girl said nothing. Instead, she grinned as she removed something from her pocket. It was a see through key card, the only feature Sora could name from it being the words "_Type-0_" etched into it. He sighed as he said, "What makes you think that Card would get us into Hallow Bastion.

"No idea," The girl grinned, Sora a little confused as to why she was so confident, but the girl nevertheless kept her confidence as she muttered, "But there must be a pretty good reason why it was placed into my pocket at the Midgar Resort," Kairi already answering Sora's next question as to where she had managed to get the card.

Holding his hand out, he said, "Give me the card," But Kairi had already shoved the card under her shirt and presumably inside of her bra, where Sora would be unable to get to.

"You want the card, you're gonna have to take me with you," She placed her hands on her hips.

Sora groaned, partly because of the stubbornness of the woman, but mostly because his frustration was being turned into pain from within his body. He knew that she wouldn't give him the card, and the longer he argued the more time they would waste and the more pain he would gain from the conversation.

"Alright, fine, i'll bring you along, but that's it," Sora shook his head, and turned around, hoping that he would not be forced to return back.

"How are you planning on getting there without identification?"

_Yevon...damn...it_

Sora turned around, already frustrated at the young woman for convincing him to bring her along, but now even more so that Riku was trying to get in on it, "I was going to use my own," The frustration was bleeding from the young man, Sora doing everything he could from hitting Riku, and also trying to ignore the laughing from Vanitas.

"Really? You were going to use your own identification so when you get caught you can go to prison even if you escape?" Riku crossed his arms, and Sora sighed. Though he loved his friends, they were poking more holes in his plan then he liked, and the worst part was the holes would only be fixed if he would bring them along.

"And how do you propose that we get through?" Sora asked, and Riku, like Kairi, said nothing as he held up an identification card, which Sora looked at. It was an exact copy of his motorcycle license with his face clearly on it, but with a few different details, like his birth date, his current location, and...

"_'Michael Mouse'_?" Sora asked in disbelief, and Riku smirked as he said, "You go by the name of Mickey, remember that,"

"You honestly expect they'll buy that my last name is 'Mouse'?" Sora asked, and Riku laughed.

"That's the brilliance of this Sora, you're name could be the most ridiculous thing in the entire world, once they scan it, it will show a complete file of your life, including medical records, certificates and social networking sites which they will have to believe,"

Sora looked back down at his fake I.D in shock, before looking back up at Riku, "How-"

"SEED Sora, they have dozens of Fake Lives created every day, Last time i was at dad's work i stole a couple of dozen already made up, i just typed in a name, looks, features, put in a picture and it did the rest, even loaded it onto the Gaian government database,"

Sora looked in awe at the young man, before he sweat-dropped, "So you had a whole bunch of names to go on, and you chose Michael Mouse,"

"Don't question it Sora, he likes to make ridiculous ones," Kairi smirked sadly as she held up her I.D, which read _'Michelle Mouse' _

"Your wife, though she prefers Minnie," Riku began before Sora had the chance to ask, which allowed Riku to enjoy the spit take that was before him, "You're there because your daughter is suffering from severe personality disorder and you want her to be in an environment where she can have a chance to be mentally cured,"

"Believe me, I already hit him," Kairi nodded to Sora, the young man turned to Riku who was busy rubbing his shoulder, "And who are you two meant to be?"

"Donald Duck and Goofy Dogg, your caring best friend and brother in law," Riku grinned, and Sora looked to Roxas who seemed a little uncomfortable. Sora could almost imagine that he had the exact same look on his face.

Sora looked to the two before he said, "I assume I don't get the card without bringing you along?"

"Oh, buddy, you don't get the I.D until we're standing in Hallow Bastion Harbor," Riku smirked as he pocketed the card, Sora grumbling about wishing he had learnt to pick-pockets instead of locks.

Sora looked from the other two to Roxas, as he walked forward and muttered, "Rox, you don't have to do this, you know..."

Roxas sighed before he gave a confident smile to Riku and Kairi, "Do you mind if you give us a few minutes?" and the two nodded as Roxas took Sora by the shoulder and walked him a little further away.

"Sora, I want to help, this thing with Shinra and Jenova, It's as much to do with me as it is with you,"

"Roxas, just because you are involved doesn't mean you have to get yourself dirty, i'm perfectly happy-"

"I know you are," Sora was surprised when Roxas placed his hand up, and stayed quite when the young man continued, "But just because you're happy to, doesn't mean you should have to...I want to help, and so do they," Roxas jerked his head towards Riku and Kairi who were waiting for them. Sora looked at his two friends to Roxas, where he sighed as he said, "I just...don't wanna hurt them,"

"Even if they are hurt, they're willing to do it while they follow you into the dark...which is why I think we need to tell them everything,"

Sora's eyes flew open as his mind went into overdrive. Tell Riku and Kairi everything? That his split personality manifested as a hallucination called Vanitas? That his sickness might not be caused from birth, but was due to Shinra, and something called Jenova? His heart was mixed with decisions about what he should do, and the reasons behind doing it wasn't just because he worried they wouldn't be able to understand, but also that it was dangerous to include many people in this situation, for the more who were involved, the more dangerous it would be.

Sora opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by Roxas, "These people are ready to dive deep to help you, whether you want to or not, don't you think you should tell them why you're doing all this?"

Sora sighed as he looked up at the young man. He could feel the hatred of Vanitas bubbling in the back of his head, but his love for the man as well as his friends was blocking the demon's true feelings. His reasons were gone as he looked towards Riku and Kairi, eagerly waiting for the two to return. Slowly, Sora nodded his head as he turned to Roxas and said softly, "After Hallow Bastion...I'll explain everything,"

"Ok Sora," Roxas smiled as he placed a hand on his shoulder, the glowing warmth on the young boy was a blessing to his mind and yet a curse to his body. Trying not to ruin the moment, he smirked before he walked away, his mind and body returning to normal status as he took a deep breath.

Reaching the two, he said clearly, "The boat leaves in ten, we better get going," and Riku smirked as he walked towards the boat, followed by Roxas. Sora was about to join them, when he felt a hand slip into his own. Looking down at, his eyes traced the body it was attached to a smiling Kairi who leaned forward and muttered softly, "Everything will be ok,"

Sora stepped back a tiny bit to get a better look at the young woman, before he gave her a genuine smile, and said in a gruff voice, "Thank you Kai," and hand in hand the two made their way to the first gate.

Paying for their tickets and making their way to the harbor, they didn't have to wait long before Roxas was spying the ferry making its way towards them. Just like other Shinra boats, it was rather lovely, and as the four made their way onto the boat with about two dozen other people, they chose seats inside instead of enjoying the breeze outside. With what was on the minds of the four, they wouldn't have been able to enjoy it anyway.

Sora looked towards Riku, who was staring at his own ID, mouthing something which he only assumed was his backstory. Roxas was playing music on his phone, which Sora had known was his way of calming himself as he had seen it many times before one of their language exams. Kairi had not let go of the young man's hand since she had slipped it in back at the Destiny Islands, yet Sora didn't mind. The heat generating from the two hands was warmer to both his mind and body, and he couldn't help but smile every time the young woman looked at him.

Soon they found the boat slowing down. Riku looked up as he took a deep breath in confidence, Roxas took out his earphones as he wrapped them around his phone and shoved them into his pocket. Sora with his free hand reached out to Riku, who took out the young man's ID and handed it to him. He looked back at it for a moment before he concentrated on the name before him. He didn't have long to ensure that he was Michael Mickey, and that if someone would call out, he would be able to answer as if the information was second nature. When the boat came to a full stop, the four waited for the other patrons to get off the boat before they made their way towards the shore. Once they had gotten to the pier, the four looked up in awe.

The first thing to notice about the building was that it was big, and it was white. There were no bars on the windows, rather it looked like a rather large mansion with dozens upon dozens of rooms. Sora shivered, this wasn't the same building he had been in all those years ago. He remembered the place had looked like a prison rather then a place of healing. But then again, there had been a lot of changes in psychological science then Sora's time at Hallow Bastion.

Sora gazed over to the yard, where many patients were walking around the yard, with some sort of caretaker near them, ensuring they wouldn't stray too far away from the building. Sora looked around and took note of the few security guards stationed around the area, one near the boat and a few in the yard. Like the Midgar Resort Security, these guards were dressed in dark blue uniforms, all with EARTHSHAKERS and PHOTONS, moving their head every so often. Vivid images of the guards posing the weapons at his face ran through the young man's mind, before he shook his head as he followed the group towards a young woman standing at the doors.

The young woman was about the height of Riku, with long blonde hair, and whose blue eyes sat behind a pair of glasses which were glancing over the group making their way towards her. She was dressed causally, but was wearing a long white lab coat, her identification clipped to the breast pocket of the coat. She had both her hands lightly placed within the pocket of the coat. Her warm smile glowed over as she waited for most of the guests to be in front of her before she said clearly, "Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the Hallow Bastion Psychological Rehabilitation Asylum, My name is Dr. Quistis Trepe, I am the Head Psychologist here, and am happy you have chosen Hallow Bastion in your adventure to heal your loved ones,"

Sora lost track of what the young woman was saying, it sounded like she had said it again and again every morning, though Sora wouldn't be surprised if it had been written for her by someone at ShinraCorp. Sora looked towards Kairi, who looked bored as well, then to Roxas and Riku, whom both were looking at her intently, though Sora hoped it was more then because she looked quite beautiful.

"...as you walk through, we will be checking all Identification, just to make sure no one is here for any other reasons," The woman had said this in a smiling and friendly attitude, and yet Sora realized that there was a reason why she had said it.

"She knows," Sora muttered, and Roxas looked a little fearful. Riku however, said nothing but slowly looked towards the boy, and shook his head. The message was clear; _Just act natural._

Sora sighed as they made their way into the building, The four making their way towards the back of the room. It was a rather large area, a secretary desk at the front, waiting chairs and tables in the corner, and a security door that had a bright red outlining. Sora stood on his toes to look at the security door, and noticed a small glass plate at the side. Watching the first person step forward, he took out his ID and held it in the Glass. The entire plate flashed red for a few seconds while it scanned, before lighting green. Soon the entire door shone green, and he walked through with ease.

"The latest from ShinraSecurity, the glass scans the Identification, which pulls up a full file on the person on our system. The program then scans for any words that might be considered hostile, words like 'journalist', 'jail-time' or any reference to someone who would be hostile within Hallow Bastion. If cleared, the green light allows the to pass, if not a siren will go off and security is here within minutes," Quistis smiled, and Sora looked to Riku as he slowly nodded his head. Clearly he was confident that his Fake ID's issued by SEED would pull through.

One by one, man and woman would pass through the security door. Sora soon found that he was closer to the door. Keeping his head down, he pressed the ID against the glass. The few seconds of scanning seemed to take hours, each flash Sora's heart would jump to his throat, and his mind went from one worst case scenario to the next.

However, soon the door flashed green, and Sora almost wiped his head as he made his way through the door. Riku and Kairi followed promptly, and smiled, before they turned to Roxas.

As his hand pressed the ID against the glass, the door suddenly grew bright red as a loud siren was heard. Guards swarmed the area as Roxas remained frozen. Sora gasped at what he saw, all three's eyes widened as Quistis made her way towards the boy, grabbing his ID out from his hands and making her way towards the computer. Typing into the computer, they all held their breath as the typing was the only thing heard.

Suddenly one of the phones went off, and Quistis picked it up. Her voice was soft and not clear to the four, but the conversation only lasted for a few seconds, before she placed the phone back down and typed something in, the alarm stopped and the door turned green in an instant.

"I'm very sorry about that, the system has been updated recently and we have had a problem, but you check out fine," The woman smiled as she handed the ID back, while Roxas gave a small nod of thanks before he joined the others, who waited until security was gone and Quistis was out of earshot before they all sighed. Neither said a word as they made their way to the rest of the group, who were already waiting in a hallway. They didn't have to wait too long before Quistis had made her way towards the front. She took a deep breath before she began with a smile embedded on her face.

"When ShinraCorp first announced their plans to make a Psychological Asylum, many people saw it as a way of getting rid of those they could not fix, and back then they were correct. Though not because of uncaring, but due to the fact that the knowledge of Psychological Science was next to none,"

Sora took most of his energy not to scoff at the young woman, though he managed to hold back Vanitas as the woman continued, "Back then, along with many other hospitals, psychological cases were locked away, if you couldn't see it, it didn't exist," Quistis stopped in front of a portrait of an older looking man with a black ponytail sitting behind a desk. Quistis stared at it admiringly before she returned back to her group.

"Unlike other hospitals, however, Hallow Bastion had one key difference in the form of its former head, Professor. John Hojo, who revolutionized psychological care, and even founded everything from experimental cures created by Shinra's Pharmaceutical devision to even breakthroughs in therapy techniques,"

At this Sora let out a cough, though he covered it up with a few more. The girl was speaking total and utter bullshit. He had spent most of his life locked in a cage thanks to Shinra, no one had tried to help him out, they had all forgotten about him. He wanted to rip the portrait down, and tear it to shreds, but he was better then he was before. He shook his head as the group continued walking through the rooms. Sora sighed as he looked around, Quistis was talking about some new therapy treatments, too busy trying to remember what she had been saying to most tour groups. Sora soon spied an elevator, and tapped the shoulders as they hung back, waiting until the group had disappeared before Sora pushed the 'down' button on the touch pad before it. The doors opened slowly and softly as the four made their way into it.

"Ok, now what?" Riku breathed as Sora looked towards the buttons on the wall. At the bottom was a glass plate similar to the one from the security door. Sora turned to Kairi as he muttered softly, "Time to see whether that card has any use,"

Kairi took a deep breath as she removed the card from her bra, and slapped it in her hands a few times, before she held her breath and placed the card against the cold glass. The entire plate flashed red a few times before lighting up green, the entire elevator began to go down. Kairi beamed at the others as they sighed in relief, Roxas wiping sweat from his brow and Riku laughing a little as the waited a few moments, before it came to a full stop, and the doors opened.

The walls was coated in metal. The floor black marble and the ceiling was mirrored, with lights every few feet to illuminate the area. Doors were lined up on each side, all with the same glass plate to allow scanning. Sora assumed that the _'Type-0'_ was some kind of clearance, and usually the higher the number the more clearance it got. So with zero, they would be able to get anywhere they wanted.

"Guys, I hate to destroy our parade, but we stick out like a shaved chocobo right now, and if someone comes round the corner we're gone," Riku muttered as Kairi walked away from the group to the first door, before she scanned the card and opened up the door, her face returning with a grin.

"Guess it's a good thing I found the break room then," and opened the door wide to allow the others to see.

The room was rather spacious, with a kitchen area, a few tables and chairs, and more importantly for the four, a few coat stands with several white lab coats sitting there. Grabbing one each, they placed them on, all thankfully fitting rather nicely. Once they were all prepared, they walked out of the room, and began walking down the corridor.

Sora's thoughts they they looked too causal was short lived as they passed a few groups of workers. All were wearing the same white lab coats, but were dressed in causal jeans, t-shirts, and occasionally someone was dressed in a white shirt and tie, though even the tie was loosely hanging from his or her collar.

The four tried not to make too much attention there was as they looked around. Every so often they would come across an open door, where there was an office area with many people typing on their personal screens in front of a large screen, almost like a mission control area. Everyone there was hard at work, though doing what was beyond them.

"Something tells me these guys are not here to look over the patients," Roxas muttered, and the others nodded as they continued moving.

Every corner they went passed Sora's heart would pound a little faster, but he would be disappointed by more doors. He hoped they were going the right way, though seeing as there was only one hall there wasn't many other places that they could go. The other thing that made Sora's heart beat faster was the fact that the longer they wasted, the more likely someone would notice they were gone and call security.

Then, as Sora began to have doubts they would find anything, they turned a corner with a few doors. Each with a name emblazoned upon the door. Sora didn't have to wait too long before he found the door with the name _Dr. Aquarius Villiers, Private Office _in Dark blue lettering. Sora placed his ear against the door, but he couldn't hear anything. Nodding to Kairi, he stepped aside as she unlocked the door, and the four quickly made their way into the room, shutting the door behind them.

The room was considered rather spacious, a large TechDesk in the corner and a desk area with a computer on it, a large window in the back. Though the area was rather spacious, the four of them in there did not give much room for them to move around in. Sora walked over to the desk while the other three moved to the TechDesk.

"Guys, we have only a couple of minutes max before someone finds us, so we don't have a lot of time," Riku began typing something into the desk, looking for files, drives, anything. Sora looked over the computer, before he realized that the computer was password protected. Groaning, he moved over to Riku as he looked over what he was doing.

Riku continued typing something in before he shook his head, saying as he did, "If there's anything on here, then they're hiding it extremely well,"

Sora groaned as he moved over to a free space, before he tapped on the glass, a virtual keyboard appearing. He began typing in words such as _'Jenova'_, _'Vanitas'_, and _'Ventus' _ but every time he was asked to input a passcode, just like when he was at the Midgar Resort.

Sora looked up to see Riku and Kairi, who looked like they wanted to console him, to tell him that maybe he was wrong. Kairi placed an arm on his shoulder as he looked up. Roxas starring at him, wanting to help. Sora sighed as he looked back towards the desk, and thats when it caught his eye.

He had been so interested in the computer he hadn't even bothered to check just underneath it. Sora had been completely convinced that there would be something on the computer, he hadn't even noticed the slightly opened drawer right underneath the computer.

Sora slowly walked towards it, trying not to let his heartbeat jump to his throat. His hand outstretched, a little shaken as he grasped the handle, and pulled the draw open. Sora peered inside, in awe despite being so little within the drawer.

It was a memory stick, a small black memory stick whose contents he didn't know. He assumed Dr. Villiers had been using it last and forgotten to completely shut down the computer. Sora slowly walked to the others, as he held it up. Roxas looked in awe as he muttered, "Do you think anything is on there?"

"Only one way to find out," Riku grasped the black memory stick, slipped off the cap and inserted it into one of the several drives. Instantly a file came up, with the word _'Confidential' _appearing on it. Sora tapped on it, and when it opened up, there was only two folders. One read _'KeychainOS' _which Sora didn't have the faintest idea what it was, nor did he care, for it was the other folder that he was interested it. The one with but four words.

_'Shinra Projects and Programs'_

All four looked at the folder in awe, not sure what to make of it. Sora's eyes shone bright, this was it, all the hard work that he had done, all the pain he had gone through, all would be worth it, only one click away.

But like fate teasing the four, an alarm was heard throughout the entire building. Sora let out a groan as he grabbed the Memory Stick, and shoved it in his pocket, saying as he did, "We gotta move," and with that the four moved out of the office.

Their coats bellowing in the wind, The four moved this way and that. As they turned their third corner, two guards came up. Before they had time to raise their guns and ask for identification, Kairi had made her way towards the two and knocked them out with a swift kick in the stomach. Picking up one of the guns, she threw it to Riku, who caught it and checked it. She moved to the other guard, who apart from having a gun also had two batons, similar to struggle bat's though a lot harder. She chucked them to Roxas, saying as she did, "You know how to use these?"

"I prefer it," He muttered as he swung both of them in his hand. With the other gun, Kairi threw it to Sora, who caught it as the four made their way towards the elevator. Kairi ran ahead of the group, where they heard a loud thunk, before Kairi emerged with two hand guns in her possession.

All four made their way around one bend, where they could see the elevator. Unfortunately, within taking a few steps the group was suddenly surrounded by guards, all ready to bring them in. Sora looked from one to the other, all three nodding their heads, before they struck.

Kairi shot two men instantly, the electrical zap from the PHOTON gun buckled them to their knees. Roxas swung his batons while dodging taser bullets, knocking out two guards on his own. Riku swung his EARTHSHAKER towards one of the guards, disarming him and knocking him out. Sora could not help but let out a smirk as he stunned the last two guards in the knees, until they were the only ones left. Ditching their coats and weapons over the knocked out and stunned guards, the four boarded the elevator. Slowly it rose up as the four breathed heavily, smiling at their success over what they had found.

As the elevator doors opened, Sora poked his head out, but no one was there. The four quickly and quietly made their way out of the elevator, looking around as they continued to hear the alarms go off. Riku soon beckoned the four to a few other group members, and soon they found themselves making their way outside the building and towards the boat. Dr. Trepe was nowhere to be found, while from the other guests talking Sora assumed that they had been told that a prisoner had escaped and they were taking the guests out before they locked down the island.

Sora and the others found seats relatively quickly, and as they felt the boat making its way from Hallow Bastion. The others all looked at each other, Sora reaching into his pocket and withdrawing the Memory Stick. The others began to laugh, and together the laughter rang out aboard the boat, the other patrons looking oddly at the four, but they ignored them as they shared their moment, no matter how small it was, it was there's.

**_x_**

_Moments Later..._

**_x_**

The alarms of the Asylum finally ended as many guards who had previously been knocked out were giving their statements. Technicians were looking over the computer files, and members of Hallow Bastion were returned back to their rooms. As the others walked this way and that, Aqua pushed her way past the door into the yard, where she could see the Harbor and the boat making its way past them. She reached into her pocket and withdrew her phone, punching in a number before she held it to her ear. She didn't have to wait long before someone answered, and when they did she said but a few words.

"We've shortened the list sir..."

**_x_**

**HOLY SNAPS THAT WAS LONG TO WRITE!**

**So im here, after Uni and everything has killed me, i managed to pull this off. It was interesting to write this chapter to say the least, a bit of a catch up as well as giving some new information. But let me tell you, this chapter has nothing on the next one. I won't give away much, but all i'll say is alot of questions are going to be answered, such as the true nature of Project: Jenova, What Shinra had planned for Sora and Roxas, and even a few other surprises :P**

**I'll keep this short and sweet cause it's late and i have an early day tomorrow, but i would love to thank all the people who have followed and subscribed. if you havn't yet i urge you to do so, even if this story is getting to the end, though even more surprises then the ones i have in stall are still to come xD and again a huge thank you to my lovely reviewers, including **DestinyKeyblader28, Krystal Lily Potter, Keyblades of Oblivion, EthanFlux, R. Recollect, Stepfanny Louise (x2) and Leige of the Crimson Nightmare. **I love you all to bits, and keep those nice long motivational reviews coming guys, you know i love them.**

**As I said last time I have recently subscribed to Instagram, where i like to occasionally post my process within chapters among other shenanigans that i get up to. I also recently redid my twitter account, where you can get an even more up close and personal look into my life, both are under the username ThatSomeoneGuy, please follow me guys, i'd love to know whats going on with your lives as much as you'd love knowing what up in mine :)**

**Like I said, extremely psyched to start the next chapter, which means you hopefully won't have to wait very long. Until there, bye bye and hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Jared Someone.**


	27. Projects and Programs

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_XXVI_**

**_x_**

_Heartilly Manor_

_Destiny Islands_

_Present Day._

**_x_**

As the cold frost lifted from the grass of the front of the manor thanks to the sun, Sora stood at the gates, his eyes gazing over the manor, before he returned to the black Memory Stick that was sitting in the palm of his hand. He gulped as he enclosed his hand over it, before slowly opening it up, as if expected the memory stick to disappear. But it was still there, cold from the air sitting in his hand.

Sora looked up at the manor once again as he slipped the memory stick into his pocket. It had been a few days since their visit to Hallow Bastion, where they had risked imprisonment to obtain the simple memory stick, which held the Project and Programs that had been created by Shinra. When they returned home, Sora had wanted to plug it into his computer right away, but Roxas had convinced the man that Kairi and Riku deserved to see what was on there as well, as without them they would not have the Memory Stick. Sora had agreed to this plan, promising that they would look together. Several times over the last few days he had been tempted to find out what was on the Memory Stick, but he had remembered the promise he had made to Roxas, and therefore had held off on viewing the information onto his computer.

And now he was here, in a few moments he would be sitting down, looking at the information with the people he loved, and would soon find out why he was the way he was. There was nothing that was going to stop him now. So taking a deep breath, he pushed the buzzer, and within seconds the gates opened up and Sora was making his way up the path towards the giant Manor. His hand slipped inside his biker jacket as he made his way up towards the door. He waited a moment as he rested his fist onto the door, before he knocked on the door.

He didn't have to wait long before the door opened, and he was greeted with a hug. Sora was shocked at first before he looked up, Kairi looked up as he smiled at her, brushing her auburn hair away from her eyes as he smiled. The young woman looked scared, but Sora shook his head as he muttered, "Thank you,"

"I'll always be here for you," She muttered back, and Sora smiled as he walked with her inside. Riku was leaning against the banister, a sympathetic smile on his face as Sora shook the man's hand, saying as he did, "Thank you for doing it here Riku,"

Riku shrugged as he said, "Might as well do it in comfort," to which Sora chuckled as he nodded his head, before he heard the doorbell go off again. Sora looked around, waiting for Riku to open the door and be greeted by Roxas. However, when Riku had opened the door, Sora's mouth dropped in shock.

Roxas was being followed by Namine, hand in hand, though it didn't take too long before Sora's gaze had turned towards the other two guests. Axel and Xion both squeezed through, Xion walking straight up to Sora and hugging him. Sora was shocked at first, but he smirked as he hugged the young girl, who for the first time wasn't trying anything, but gave a soft smile as she nodded her head. Xion wasn't big on the whole 'it'll be ok' speech, and Sora was glad.

Once she had moved away, Axel came up to the young man and placed a hand on his shoulder, saying as he did, "We'll be here for you bro," and Sora nodded his head as he muttered a thanks, though he was still shocked at what everyone was doing here. Who had invited them all?

As if reading his mind, Roxas stepped forward as he said, "I was only planning to bring Namine, but when these two said they wouldn't take no for an answer," and for the first time, Sora wasn't angry. His conversation with Roxas on the harbor on how his friends wanted to be there for him was the reason why he was calm. Something about what Roxas had said had made the boy feel at peace. He nodded his head as he placed a hand on the blonde haired young man's shoulder, taking a deep breath as he offered a nervous smile, "Ready to find out?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Roxas grinned, and nodding to Riku, he drew his hand towards the staircase, "Follow me," and with that the entire group made their way up the staircase, and turned left, heading towards the West Wing of the Manor, where Sora had not gone before.

The hallway was a lot emptier then the East Wing. There were fewer doors, though Sora assumed these were where the gym, pool room, and other areas Riku had described the first time he had been to the mansion. Soon they had reached the end of the hall, and Riku opened the door as they all walked into the room.

It was more then clear that they had just walked into Riku's parents bedroom, the King size bed a dead giveaway. Though what was more impressive was the fact that it was double the size of Riku's room, and even that room was rather large. It was rather empty, a walk in closet on the left with a makeup table on one side and an en-suite on the other side. In the corner near their door was a large tv, with remotes on both the bedside tables on either side. Sora had no idea why they were in the room until he was reminded of a previous conversation with Riku, in which he had told him about a room similar to Riku's live in clothing store, and how he believed his father had turned it into a 'Mission Control' type war room.

Sora turned to the young man, who merely smiled as he walked towards his Father's bedside table. Moving his hand underneath the small table, he smirked as he pressed hard, before they saw the wall left from the table slowly move back, before it drifted to the side, revealing a perfect door shaped hole which could fit even a particularly tall person rather snuggly.

Riku entered first, followed by Xion, and soon Sora and Kairi were making their way through the hole. The entire area was made of marble, from the ceiling with small lights to the stairs, which had small gaps in between each step. It reminded him of the Underground area of Hallow Bastion, all shiny and clean. As Sora pressed his hand against the cold glass, he felt a chill run from the marble, before they reached a door. Opening it up, Riku walked inside and waited for everyone else to enter before he breathed deeply, and closing the door, said, "Welcome to the War Room,"

The room looked rather comfortable, yet dark as well. Sora assumed this was the case because they must be well underground by now. The whole area was carpeted, with several comfortable seats in the back, it looked more like a private movie theatre then a war room. Along the edge of the room was tables with computers, while above them on the walls were several large screens, all with a screensaver of a cube that seemed to be unraveling itself as it bumped across the entire screen.

Riku moved to one of the computers at the front and pressed a button, the screen jumping to life as he typed in a password, opening up the browser. Looking to Sora, he outstretched his hand, waiting for the Memory Stick. Sora took out the small black object before he placed it in his hands, before making his way to one of the seats there, followed by Kairi and the others.

Riku stuck the memory stick into one of several ports, before he took one of the wireless keyboards that were lying around and sat in the last remaining seat, the desktop instantly swapping from the computer screen to the large screen embedded into the wall. Typing something in quickly, the Folder appeared on the screen, before it opened up. Again, just like in Dr. Villiers office, there were two folders within it, one with _'KeychainOS' _and another that read _'Projects and Programs'. _Riku looked to Sora, who nodded his head, before Riku typed something in, and the folder opened.

Sora looked in awe as the 'Projects and Programs' folder revealed several files, all with different names. Sora was amazed at what he was looking at, and the titles they had. However, it wasn't long before he had found the one he wanted, and pointed towards one of a dozen files "There," he muttered, in the bottom corner of the screen was the words, '_Project: Jenova'._ Riku opened the folder from his keyboard, where once again there were more files, but Sora was only interested in the one that said _'Overview' _Which Riku didn't need Sora to tell him was the one to click on as it opened. Sora took a deep breath as he focused on the title, before he began to read.

_In the Summer of 1987, the Gaian Government approached ShinraCorp and asked if it was possible to create a "Super Soldier" using chemical enhancers. Although Shinra had gone through many Experiments, their final report was that there was no chemical that could turn ordinary men and women into Super Soldiers [See Final Report #211]._

_In 1991, the meteor 'Jenova' broke the Planet's atmosphere, where the planet's gravity took ahold of the meteor and crashed it into the sea just off the coast of a Shinra Laboratory. Shinra ordered teams to retrieve the rock away from the eyes of the Public and to begin research on it, the original plan was to discover how it managed to break the Atmosphere prior to the day it landed and managed to stay in orbit._

_While experimenting, Shinra Scientists discovered the the Meteor had a chemical buried within it, a Biological Re-engineering Enzyme the likes of which had never been seen by humans before. Further experiments concluded that when combined with Mako energy and the Class Three Hallucinogenic drug 'Materia' , it created'Jenova Cells', which in theory when combined with an Electrical charge would change the DNA and molecular structure of humans; When combined with a Positive Charge, Jenova Cells improved the mind of a human, while when combined with a Negative Charge, the Jenova cells improved the body of one._

_Early testing seemed to show promise within adult humans, but further studies found that side effect would begin to grow, include mind and bone deterioration, which often lead to brain death and even bone deformation and eventual decomposition. The results showed that the chemicals did not match with a fully developed human, and for the Jenova Cells to reshape the human structure while not destroying it, it had to be injected in the body of a developing human for over a year, where it would react with a natural biological event, such as puberty._

_March of 1994, two new-borns were abducted from Edge State Hospital. These two babies were named Subject: Ventus and Vanitas. For over a year, Ventus was injected with Positive Jenova Cells, while Vanitas was subjected to Negative Jenova Cells. Early testing showed that the chemical were working in mild forms; Subject Ventus was showing signs of understanding basic symbols and signs 4 times faster then normal infants at his age, while Subject Vanitas would be subjected to daily bodily harm tests, which would show healing of the body 4 times faster then normal infants._

Nothing was said, everyone was silent. Sora couldn't believe what he had just read. His entire life was some Experiment created by Shinra. He had been snatched from a life he could have had with a loving family, all because Shinra wanted to make killing machines, Super Soldiers. Sora reread the part of how Jenova Cells were created, and for the first time in his life he understood why Vanitas would appear as a Hallucination. If Materia was being used to create it, then it stood to reason that he would suffer from Psychological Hallucinations, maybe connected with the Jenova and Mako it would be used to empower and motivate him and drive him towards a goal. While all this pondered in his mind, He stayed quite as Riku read out loud.

"Looks like the project was discontinued after the WRO was tipped off to illegal human experimenting, all Projects were discontinued while the WRO were beginning an Internal Investigation into the Corporation, hence why it was never restarted again," Riku muttered as he leaned back into his seat, looking towards Sora and Roxas.

Sora sighed as he looked away, he could feel his hand within Kairi's as she moved her arm around him. He was too shocked to say anything as Kairi squeezed his shoulder, Sora responding by turning to bury his blue eyes into hers. He could already feel the pit in his stomach growing. Roxas could see the pain he was going through, Sora had gone through pain through most of his early life thanks to Shinra, and it looked like today was not going to be an exception.

"Why don't we look at some of the other Projects Riku," Roxas smiled as he scratched the back of his head, before nodding, and getting out of the file. He scanned over them as he began going through some of them.

"_'Replica Program' _...Seem's like Shinra was working on human cloning, as well as

Memory and Personality Duplication, so that those who died could be brought back, memories and personality included... but were cancelled before they could begin experimenting, ..._'Project Nobody', _which looks like they were working on hypnotic suggestion, to allow people to be controlled without them even realizing, essentially grooming them to be obedient puppets," Riku hummed as he continued looking through the files, Sora began to lose track of what Riku was saying. His mind going over what he had just read, what Shinra had done. Lied to the Gaian government, Experimented on people which caused deformity and death, kidnapped 2 innocent young babies and experimenting on them, all for what? Some money? The fame? The power? A combination of the three. Sora couldn't possible make a decision to take away lives for it. Revenge? Maybe, it was definitely why Vanitas would take lives, but Sora couldn't even think of a reason for himself.

"_'Keychain Operating System'_," Sora was jolted away from his own thoughts when Riku had read out what was on the screen. Everyone looked at each other, all remembering the folder from before, though it hadn't had much information on it, unlike the file they were all reading now. Sora looked at it as he read out loud.

"KeychainOS was created by the Software Development Devision of ShinraTech, It's primary function was to send a small code to any shinra product, which when wireless sent to a Shinra Product, could hack it, from their computers and tablets to their Security Systems, Vehicles and even weapons,"

"Weapons? Vehicles?" Axel asked, clearly confused, though his question was answered as they continued reading.

"Seems Shinra's weapons were beginning to be embedded with ShinraTech chips which connected the guns, to help with everything from targeting to readout of ammo, it would wireless transmit the information to something called a Dimension Link, or D-Link, though there isn't much information about what it is, but essentially one could hack the chip to cause shorting out to the point that the weapon would lock, it was the same with vehicles apparently, the readout of speed, petrol, etc would be shown on whatever this D-Link is, but hacking it could lock the car down like a small prison, just like hacking the gun could stop it from firing,"

"Why would Shinra make it possible to lock a gun or vehicle that they were trying to sell, wouldn't it be more of a hinderance?" Roxas asked.

"Forget that, why would Shinra create a software program that could hack its own products?" Sora asked, and Riku responded with, "I think I know why," to which everyone looked from Riku to the screen, and Sora read out loud, "_'Keyblade Program'_?"

"...Woah, Shinra was trying to create it's own task-force of Hacker Assassins, _'Keybladers would be given a copy of KeychainOS, where they would essentially be able to trap targets and incapacitate them, gain transport and even have access to gaining or wiping security footage all connected to Shinra, before going in for the kill'_" Riku read as he turned to the others, Sora continuing to read as well.

"Seems like all Keybladers would be injected with Jenova Cells as well," Roxas turned to the young man, and Sora sighed as he said, "Look's like that's where we would have gone, had the project continued,"

"It doesn't make any sense, the whole world isn't outfitted with ShinraTech, and from what i've read this _KeychainOS _only worked with Shinra Products, why would Shinra create a hacking task-force when they would only work with Shinra products?" Namine asked as the others nodded, but Riku seemed to be interested in something on screen, as his eyes finished scanning before he said, "I think I found out why," and pointed to the screen, Sora looking towards it as he said, "_'Project Midgar'_,"

"Like the Midgar Resort?" Xion asked, but Riku shook his head as he said, "I think Shinra had bigger plans then to make a resort," and when the others looked at him, Riku read out loud, _"Divulging funding into Shinra's Laboratories, research was being conducted for creating land from the sea, Experimentation showed that it was possible to create it's own Island. Once it was confirmed, Shinra would approach the Gaian government with plans to create an Island State off the coast of Gaia, where more living opportunities would present itself. The State, which would be known as Midgar, would be funded entirely by Shinra, including the construction of buildings, apartments and housing, parks, malls and even suburbs. All constructions would be given the latest in Shinra Technology, including security systems and BlackGlass technology, vehicles would all be Shinra produced and manufactured by ShinraTransport, Weapons and Protection, schooling, law enforcement, all would be funded by the Shinra Corporation._

"Imagine it," Riku muttered as he turned to the others, who were all silent as they allowed the young man to continue, "The entire Island with nothing but Shinra Products, with this KeychainOS, you could be dangerous, stopping everything from traffic lights to cars to weapons,"

"But why? Why give law enforcement that much power? Did he want a perfect society?" Axel asked, and Sora's eyes widened as he began connecting the dots, recalling a conversation he had had with Riku months ago, and said out loud, "Destiny Islands,"

Everyone turned to the young man as Riku asked, "What about them?" and Sora turned back to the man, trying to slow his breathing but was finding it difficult.

"When we were heading to the struggle tournament at the Mirage Arena, we were talking about Traverse, and you were telling me that Destiny Islands was colonized as a way of creating a perfect society, but when Crime began, they boarded off the crime in Traverse and allowed Twilight to live in perfect harmony,"

"Yeah, so?" Riku asked, not sure where Sora was going, but Riku's eyes widened as Sora explained, "What if Shinra wanted to do that? Create a society with little to no crime, a Utopia filled with Technology and Safety, enforce it with Secret Hacker Assassins, creating safety through fear of what would happen if you committed a crime?"

"So...Shinra wanted to create safety?" Kairi asked as she looked from the two, and Sora looked to her, "Shinra isn't the type of guy who would do something for the population unless he would gain something in some way. They created the Midgar Resort for Profit, Hallow Bastion for brownie points towards the Gaian Government, what would he gain from from creating a Utopia?"

Everyone thought for a moment, but it was Xion, the daughter of a political figure that answered the question, "If Midgar had been considered a state of Gaia, a Senate Chancellor representing Midgar would have the opportunity to run for Presidential Chancellor, and with a State with no Crime, and funding from the Shinra Corporation, it wouldn't be hard for the Midgar representative to easily swing the poles their way,"

"And with a Shinra representative running the country, Rufus Shinra would effectively have control of the entire country," Sora concluded as everyone remained silent, Riku looked over the file once again, saying as he did, "Well, looks like Shinra placed the plans on hold after Shinra was being investigated by the WRO, seems like asking to create an adjoining state from a company that was being investigated by the WRO was the wrong way,"

Sora sighed as he pushed himself back into the chair, Kairi's hand feeling a little clammy in his own, though he was almost sure that it was his fault. From everything he had seen, the Projects and Programs hidden from the rest of the world, he was trying to keep himself together, but after so long of wondering who he was, it was all there, plastered on Riku's computer. Sora shook his head as he took a deep breath, before he looked towards Riku, who was busy scrolling through the files, glancing over them without even opening them up, before he stopped, and read out loud, "_'Funding'_,"

"Why would Shinra's funding be in a folder with secret projects and programs?" Axel asked, and Sora looked between Riku and Roxas before he nodded his head. Riku clicked on the folder, before it opened up with a small list of businesses. Not realizing at first what it was, it didn't take long before Roxas' eyes were widened and he had worked it out.

"These are businesses funded by Shinra," and every one looked from Roxas to the list, it becoming more clear to the others as the seconds went on.

"That still doesn't explain-" Kairi began, but Sora shook his head as he suddenly cut her off.

"It does...If Shinra wasn't telling their stockholders they were spending money to finance other businesses," Sora looked from the others, and Riku repeated what Sora had said before.

"Shinra only does something if he sees gain for himself," and Sora nodded his head, standing up, allowing his hand to leave Kairi's as he walked around, his mind going into overdrive as he could feel his heart beating against his chest, feeling Vanitas' gleeful laughter echo ever so slightly into his ears.

"We know the WRO was looking into Shinra, and that if it were on record that Shinra was funding companies, those companies in turn would be investigated by the WRO, right?" Sora looked at the others, and when he got a nod from the heads of everyone else, he continued.

"So let's say ShinraCorp wanted to continue creating illegal projects and programs, but knew that if they put it on record that they would be gone. What if ShinraCorp gave donations to up and coming business under the table? Business that hadn't even been on the radar of the Gaian Government? And in exchange for these 'Donations' the businesses would create everything from technology to toxins that would be...questionable...to the WRO,"

"A business like Nobody Pharmaceuticals?" Riku asked, as Sora looked to the screen, finding a file with the name of the business written on it. Riku clicked onto the folder, and a number of folders came up with different names. Riku began to scroll over them as Roxas asked, "...What's Nobody Pharmaceuticals?"

"They're a business, first came to notice in 2003 when they showcased a medical revolution called Esuna, which they claimed could heal basic bodily harms such as burns, open scars and bruises over a small amount of time. Though the Company had been rumored to be using Materia to create torture poisons such as Firaga, Graviga, stuff like that,"

Roxas shook his head as felt something come over him. He had heard the words before, like in a dream...was it? He felt something pushing against his head as his hand reached his temple. He shook his head as he continued to look towards the others as Namine asked, "Firaga? Graviga? What?"

"Technically their name is Aga Poisons, they say that when injected in the body it affects the mind, giving them the same symptoms as the first part of the word. For instance, Firaga would give the illusion to the taker that their very bones were burning, while Graviga would make the user feel like their entire body was crushing in space. It's is considered the perfect torture poison because it leaves no physical mark apart from a needle prick," Riku explained, and Roxas automatically reached for his arm, scratching it, as if he had felt something pushing against his arm, and shook his head once again.

"They're considered a Level 1 Hallucinogenic due to their torture nature, though SeeD has been rumored to use them when they desperately need intel," Riku sighed as he leaned into his seat, looking over the folder as everyone else felt a chill run down their veins, all correctly guessing how Riku knew that information. When the young man suddenly made a noise with his throat, everyone turned to face him.

"I know that name," He said as he opened up his web browser and typed in the name before hitting Enter. Sora looked from the young man's keyboard before he looked back to the screen, one day was in the search engine, _'Professor Xehanort Xemnas'_

The man looked rather handsome, his silver hair lightly sat on his back as his brown eyes stared deeply into the eyes of the others. His picture showed him wearing a white lab coat, but underneath he was sporting a grey waistcoat with a purple ascot. His arms were folded, and he wore a small smirk on his face.

"Professor Xehanort Xemnas the Second, former consultant for many pharmaceutical corporations across the planet, the most common being ShinraCorp. He was the son of Xehanort Xemnas the First, world renowned Psychologist who became famous for what is known as the Kingdom Hearts Theory,"

"The Kingdom Hearts Theory?" Axel asked, and Riku nodded as he went on to explain, "It's the theory that if one was to have control of all forms of Western Civilization, from Technology and Weaponry to Religion and even Law Enforcement, one could essentially control the world and it's heart, hence the name, Kingdom Hearts Theory" and Axel nodded. Sora had heard the theory before, and he was sure he knew where Riku had heard the theory. It was taught through all Government organizations, in order to look out for signs of someone trying to go through with Planet Domination.

"...It was said that Xehanort the Second worked on the team that designed the antidote for the fatal Geostigma virus, but he soon began Nobody Pharmaceuticals, he was particularly well known for researching into Memory and Mind Manipulation, including Dream Control,"

"Dream Control?" Namine asked, and Riku nodded his head as he continued, "Looks like he was on the team who worked on the D.D.D,"

"The Dream Drop Distance Machine," Sora muttered, before he realized people were looking towards him, and he explained, "The machine was created by ShinraCorp in the 1980's, and it said to be able to control peoples dreams, and implement talents, abilities and knowledge for people to train. They would hold this information that they had learnt while under the D.D.D machine, It was thought to be the next form of training done by everyone from the Guardian Corps to Businesses, but it was pulled when those who used it went through 'Reality Shifts',"

"Reality Shifts?" Xion asked, and Sora was about to answer when he was cut off by Riku, "It was a form of Mental Sickness where the user wouldn't be able to tell what was a dream and what was reality, sometimes believing they were dreaming and would do things that could seriously injure themselves. In some case the Reality Shifts would cause someone to believe they were in multiple dreams at once which could destroy the mind entirely, hence why it was pulled,"

Sora nodded his head as he returned back to the screen, before Riku stopped at something, and he muttered, "...C.o.M,"

At once Roxas' eyes widened, and he felt the pain drumming against his head. He was glad he was in a seat, for he felt his legs get lighter on him. He couldn't understand what was going on. He tried to shake it away, but it seemed like it wanted to stay with him. All he could do was take a deep breath as Riku clicked his fingers.

"I knew I heard that term before, Chain of Memories, It a Memory Altering drug, highly experimental, rumors had surfaced a few years ago that Nobody Pharmaceuticals were manufacturing it, but it was pulled from the public eye within weeks, Nobody Pharmaceuticals spent a lot of time denying the fact that Chain of Memories ever existed," Riku explained as he continued reading over the information before them.

Sora, who had read ahead of the others, began to read aloud, "C.o.M was initially considered a cure to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the frontline of Reality and Memory Manipulation research. Essentially it would send the user to sleep and target certain memories, convincing the mind upon awaking that what they had experienced was nothing more then a dream, completely forgetting it within a few moments..." Sora stopped short of what he was reading, placing his hand over his mouth as he muttered, "Oh Yevon," before he looked from Kairi to Namine and Xion, then to Axel, who was the one who finished the sentence.

"The drug was banned for it potential use as a date rape drug," Axel ran a hand through his hair as he looked around. Everyone remained silent as Riku closed the page, and returned back to the folders before him, saying as he did, "Why would they risk potentially creating a date-rape drug?"

"Because Shinra wanted it...so in their eyes it was worth the risk," Sora muttered as he looked up at the folder once again. His eyes darted from the _Projects and Programs_ folder to the one that read _KeychainOS. _His mind going back to the Keyblade program, and what KeychainOS would be able to do.

Standing up, he muttered to Riku, "Do you have a power cord for the sPhone+?" to which the silver haired young man nodded his head as he got up from his chair and walked towards the desk, taking out a small black cord. Sora took out his own phone and held it up, a tiny little indent where he could place the tip of the chord into. Once he had found the USB port right next to the memory stick, he placed it in.

Letting the cold glass sit in his hand, he turned and nodded to Riku, who returned back to his seat, where he clicked on the folder.

At first the folder appeared blank, there was not a single thing inside. However, the word's _'Initializing, please wait' _ appeared within the file, disappearing almost as quickly as they had appeared. Then the file closed automatically, back to the two files, both _KeychainOS _and _Projects and Programs_. Sora looked around, not sure what he was expecting, before he looked down at his phone, his eyes widened.

His phone, which was previously been clear like a normal piece of glass, was now running small amounts of code throughout the screen. Within a few seconds, the coding was gone, and the normal layout of the home screen was there, with one exception. There was now a new button on the touch screen, with a lock as the symbol. Sora moved over so everyone could get a better look, and they watched as Sora pressed on the button.

The screen was replaced with a map, exactly where they were. Towards the bottom of the screen there was two buttons, one with _'Map'_, the other _'List'_. Sora looked towards the top right hand side of the corner, where a button with a magnifying glass was on it. Pressing it, the words _'Searching, please wait' _appeared for a few moments before dots appears all over the small amount of map, Sora could only assume that it was a twenty mile radius. Pressing one of the few dots that were close to Sora's position, the words "_Riku's sPhone+" _popped up. Sora looked towards Riku as he pressed the button once again, and suddenly a range of options appeared, including the ability to cancel the signal of a phone, to gaining access of everything from his ReCoded account to his list of contacts, and even the ability to intercept phone calls from Riku's phone.

"Yevon above," Sora muttered as he looked to the others, and everyone looked back as they whistled, knowing that Sora had just downloaded extremely powerful Software into his phone. Axel smirked as he reached out, saying, "Give me a try," but Sora held his hand away, though not fast enough for him to stop Axel from tapping the screen. He had managed to pull up the _'List' _option of the Keychain App. Looking down at it, Sora noticed that instead of a map, the app was now listing all Shinra products, from phones to computers to even the vehicles, all with the owners name and the specific Shinra product that could be hacked within a twenty mile radius

Looking over it, Sora realized that the first option was _'Squall Leonhart's Computer' _Sora realized that this was the same computer with the files that was on there. Clicking on it, he looked at one of the options, and squinted in confusion. Kairi being the first one to notice Sora's reaction, she asked him, "What is it?"

"I think..." before looking from the computer to his phone, then towards Kairi, and then Riku, "There's a ghost file on here," and Riku looked confused as Sora began pressing buttons on the touch screen, before he looked towards the first page of the file, there was now a third folder labeled _'Heartbeat Files'_. Clicking onto it, there was but one video file. Riku looked to the others as if waiting for their permission, but Sora was the only one to nod his head, as Riku glided the cursor over the video file, before he clicked, and sat back as the video began to play, which seemed to be footage from a security camera. As everyone began to watch, gasped hit the silent air as they saw a few scientists bring an unconscious body to a propped up table. But the gasps grew to cries of shock as the scientists moved away, and everyone could see that it was Roxas' unconscious body was against the propped up table.

"When the hell-" Sora muttered, not sure when the video had taken place, until Roxas, who had remained silent due to the shock of what had happened spoke, as almost a whisper, "Midgar Resort, there was-" But he couldn't finished as he blinked in stunned silence.

Sora turned to Riku as he asked, "Has this thing got sound?" and Riku took a moment before he typed something into the keyboard, before hitting the 'enter' button, and suddenly noise pierced the speakers.

There was chatter, people walking this way and that as they looked towards Roxas every once and a while. Soon a plump man moved forward, where they heard Roxas call out against him "Comply with our questions and we'll set you free," The man seemed to be in control, and his voice instantly drained the color of Roxas as he placed a hand against his head.

"We're going to get the information one way or another, why put yourself through pain for them?" So they still didn't know whether it was a male or female, or at least they didn't at the time this had been. Sora began to watch more clear, but couldn't help but flinch as they picked up the first of a few syringes on the table, and inject it into Roxas. His screams of pain sounded throughout the speakers, and most had turned their head, trying not to hear, yet no one was muting the video as they continued watching.

As Roxas had been placed through the second Poison, and when one of the scientist had said he was being protected by a Mental Strength, both Sora and Roxas had muttered, "Ventus,", the others paying only a second attention to what the two had said as they continued to watch.

Sora almost had to close his eyes as the third needle was almost injected, seeing by the way Roxas on the screen was squirming around that it wasn't anything good. But he wasn't the only one who was sighing in relief when someone walked towards the short man and grabbed his hand, and Sora instantly muttered, "Aqua," recognizing the blue hair as she berated the man for what he was doing, everyone sighing in relief as they continued watching. However, what happened next managed to re-grab the attention of everyone in the room.

**_x_**

_Sector 0_

_Midgar Resort._

_1 month ago..._

**_x_**

"Inject him with C.o.M and get him back him back to his room," Dr. Aqua Villiers ordered, and Dr. Palmer nodded his head as he picked up one of the syringes sitting on the table, and injected it into the blonde haired man's arm. The man known as Roxas slowly drooped his head against the propped up table, a few of the scientists walked over and checked his pulse, before they untied him and began to move him away from the area.

Aqua rounded on Palmer as she muttered, "Get out of my sight Palmer, I don't want to see you for the rest of my time here," and Palmer nodded his head as he moved out of the room. The young woman ran her hand through her blue hair as she went to move out of the room herself, but was stopped by one of the scientists who was holding an sTab+ in her hands, typing something as she said, "Dr. Villiers, I think we have something here,"

Aqua looked over at the young woman, before she looked at the tablet in front of her, the scientist continued, "Palmer asked us to monitor the heartbeat of the subject as he was injecting the Aga Poisons, this was what was happening," Aqua looked over the Tablet as she said, "What is this?", not quite believing what was on her screen.

"This is his heartbeat while he was being injected, as well as brain patterns, it looks as if his brainwaves were...well, trying to force himself to remain conscious," Aqua took the Tablet as she began flicking through information, one after the other as the scientist continued.

"There's something else, look at his heartbeat from when he regained consciousness," the scientist flicked through the information until she had reached something, and Aqua moved away from the scientist as she muttered, "...dear Yevon, it's irregular,"

"Not just irregular ma'am, it's completely away from a normal heartbeat, his brain is processing to a point where he is mentally able to handle not just psychological pain, but what the effects the Aga Poisons are doing to his mind, ensuring that-"

"He can handle most psychological torture, both mental and chemical," Aqua finished as she looked around, before saying, "Who else have you told about this?"

"Nobody ma'am," The scientist said, and Aqua nodded her head as she said, "Good, this information is Type-0, for eyes only, I need you to record it to a Memory Stick and have it on my desk immediately, then have all information regarding this destroyed, and you are not to repeat this to anyone, do I make myself clear?" and the Scientist nodded as she took back the Tablet and made her way towards the door. Aqua watched her walk away as she took out her phone, and dialed a number, holding the phone to her ear as she made her way out of the same door, saying as she did, "We might have some new information regarding Jenova,"

**_x_**

_Heartilly Manor _

_Destiny Islands_

_Present Day._

**_x_**

Once again, everyone was completely silent. Kairi looked from the video to Roxas, tears were down her eyes as she heard Namine give out a little choke. Sora looked away as his thoughts went to Vanitas. He had told him the morning before their break into Hallow Bastion, _"Your molecular structure is changing the likes of which no human has ever experienced before," _He must have known this was what the two were going through. Sora shook his head as he remembered what they had just seen, and looked towards of the colour had returned to Roxas' face, but not all of it was there, and it was still going to be a while before he could completely comprehend what he had just seen. When he had finally regained the ability to speak, he merely managed to choke out, "What did they say about my heartbeat?...am I a...freak?"

"No!" The word had escaped Sora's lips before anyone else had any time to register what Roxas had said. The blonde haired looked up as Sora was now standing next to him. His eyes full of nothing but respect and admiration for the young man. Despite being tortured for information, he had managed to be strong enough not to give him up. Sora realized, then and there, that he could trust Roxas to the ends of the planet, and he nodded his head, showing more respect to Roxas then ever before.

As he looked around, Sora instantly felt a sharp pain hit his head. The more he thought about the braveness of the young man before him the more that pain hit his head. His eyes burst open as his normal blue orbs flashed gold for a second, before he closed his eyes and his knees hit the floor. Sora knew it was a combination of his anger towards ShinraCorp and his admiration towards Roxas which was the reason why Vanitas in his mind was more clear then ever before, as he felt the Hallucination mutter in his ear, "You cannot forget your sins Sora," and his memory flew back to the holidays in Edge, where he had seen the young man whom Sora knew now was just a figment created by Vanitas. He moaned as his mind flashed back, a suburban area, surrounded by kids, his fist clenched, a cold sweat, and then...darkness.

When Sora had gotten his breathing back, he looked around. Everyone there was starring at him, worried looks over their faces. Sora looked from one to the other, as Kairi leaned down and grabbed his hand, saying as she did, "Is that...Vanitas?"

But Sora was in no mood to answer questions, or rather he was too afraid to answer the question. Sora felt like at any moment Vanitas would answer back to the others, and after his experience with Roxas in the alleyway, he did not want any of his friends to experience that ever again. So ignoring the young girl's question, he pushed past the others as he made his way out of the room, the others only seeing the hem of Sora's jacket disappear up the stairs. Kairi went to follow, worry clearly staining her usually bright face, but was stopped by Roxas, who shook his head, saying as he did, "No...He is not going to let anyone in at the moment. He needs to face his demons on his own," and Kairi looked back as she sighed, looking up the stairs and not to anyone else.

"It's not the Demon's im worried about...It's what he is going to do next,"

**_x_**

**WOW, i don't know why, but this was a particularly challenging chapter to do. Hope you all enjoyed the little nods I had to Kingdom Hearts References from the titles to the in-game references. I enjoyed writing them, and hopefully i'll get to use them more within the future.**

**So i know i said i was keen to do this chapter, and i promised it would be done quickly, but Uni kinda hit me over the head something hard and forced me to put writing away. But after i got this last assignment down i had some time to give all you lovely people a chapter, and boy this chapter certainly did a lot for me.**

**Not much action, but talk about difficult to write. I was changing parts left, right and centre, but i finally got it finished, thanks to the motivation of all you lovely people.**

**A special thanks to those who reviewed, including **R. Recollect, lion5589, Prince of Havok, Random Reader 17, soushin5, Xerzo LotCN, Stepfanny Louise, DestinyKeyblader28, Flying By Wire, Fluoricia, EthanFlux, ChristianLynch, The V-Blade, Bond of Frost and TheDelta724. **If i have forgotten anyone i am so sorry, you know i love you just as much, you are all incredibly awesome people and i appreciate what you do :)**

**I will say now that the next chapter will not be too action-y, though a revelation of why Sora moved to the Destiny Islands will be revealed, as well as some more developments. I will say that the ending will be just as exciting as everything else that has been revealed up until this point. But until then i shall say hope you enjoyed the chapter, and stay tuned for more updates.**

**Jared Someone.**


	28. The Life Vanitas Wanted

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_XXVII_**

**_x_**

_Twilight Heights High School._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The echo of the large clock in the front of the hall was going through the ears of each student sitting there. Though there was more to think about then the sound the clock was making, at least for Kairi. She was busy scrawling over the last answer of her paper, her mind trying to go through every bit of information in regards to the question. Looking back over the question, she nodded her head as she smiled, just in time to hear the voice of her examiner, "Pencil's down, now!"

The sound of the clock was hidden for a few seconds by the sound of pencil's hitting the desks. Waiting in silence for the other examiners to collect the students papers, when the papers that the students had been worrying about for months were sitting on top of each other on the desk up the front, the words "You may leave," were hidden by the sound of scrapping chairs and footsteps heading outside.

When Kairi had finally managed to get out, she glanced up as she enjoyed the sun against her skin, stretching as a smile broke her face, glad that she never had to look at Business Studies ever again. Grinning, she strode her way towards her locker, where she was forced to place her bags while participating in her exams. Taking out her phone, she scanned it for messages, before she sighed. Clearly she had been hoping to receive a text from someone, but she wasn't going to let this get her down, as she placed a genuine smile on her face, slipped her phone back into her bag, and grabbed her Ancient History book. She had her Exam for the subject in a couple of hours, and after grabbing something to eat she would slip in some last minute study before she took the exam, so slipping the book under her arm, she made her way towards the cafeteria.

Entering the area, she looked around. Just like a few weeks ago, the place was completely bare. Kairi headed straight for the food line, where she found herself a sandwich and an apple along with a bottle of orange juice. Turning around, she wondered where she would sit, before she smirked as she made her way towards the couch areas, where Riku, Roxas and Namine were all staring deeply into their books, each having their own exams throughout the day. Slumping down as she dropped her book on the table, the others jumped a tiny bit before smiles appeared on their faces quickly soon after.

"How'd your business studies exam go?" Namine asked, and Kairi shrugged as she took a bite out of the apple, enjoying the taste of the apple, and swallowed as she said, "I think I passed, though I won't know until I get the marks back I guess," and the others nodded their head as their heads returned back into their books, Kairi sighed as she took another bite of her apple, watching her friends before she sighed.

Namine was the only one to notice the sigh as she looked up from her book, saying as she did, "You seem down?" and Kairi looked up, bitting her cheek as she said, "I just...haven't seen Sora around, and we're suppose to be doing our music practical next week. We haven't even talked about what song we're suppose to be doing, and-"

"You're worried about him," Namine slipped her hand into her friends as she gave him a smile. Kairi sighed as she nodded her head, looking towards Roxas and Riku. But both shook their heads as the former said, "I haven't seen Sora since Exam time started last week, but even before then he seemed to be distant, not talking in any of the classes, and spending most of his time alone...though after what we found out, i'm surprised he hasn't gone into complete isolation,"

Kairi nodded her head, it had been weeks since they had read the files on Shinra's project and programs. After Sora had left Riku's house, Kairi had tried to get ahold of him through Phone and Recoded messaging, but Sora hadn't responded. When she had seen him in class the next day, Sora had told her he was fine, but after that...it was like he was avoiding everyone. From what she had heard, he kept his head down, headphones in, and the first chance he got he was making his way out of the school and back home. He wasn't even turning up to the music lessons, which made Kairi feel like the young man was trying to avoid her specifically, because she was not going to give him space. She needed to get into his hair, to push him into telling him what he was feeling, no matter how dangerous that was going to end up. Kairi couldn't imagine what was going in the young man's mind, finding out he was part of an Experiment going on by ShinraCorp. So much was going on within his mind, if he didn't let it out, then he was going to drive himself insane.

Kairi sighed as she looked away from the others, finishing her apple as she placed the core on the table and made for her sandwich. She took a bite as she heard Roxas drop his books, saying as he did, "We have to go to the police,"

"Roxas," Riku said as he dropped his book and looked at the blonde young man, "We cannot go to the police, or my father, or anyone,"

"Why not? We have the proof now!" Roxas muttered, and Kairi lowered her voice as she said, "Yeah? And where did we get the Memory Stick? We stole it from an office in Hallow Bastion, the minute we show that evidence, we start getting questioned as to how it was obtained, and because it was obtained illegally, everything that could implicate Shinra cannot be used, and the one piece of evidence that we could use to take down Shinra is suddenly in the wind, and we're back to square one," and Roxas groaned as he slammed his head on the table, saying as he did, "Why does your mother have to be a cop,"

"That's just our luck," Kairi smirked sadly as she took another bite of her sandwich, chewing on it as Roxas sighed, saying as he did, "It's just not fair,"

"Of course it's not fair," Kairi said as she finished her sandwich, before she continued, "But there's nothing we can do, for now we should just concentrate on our Exams, once that's done, we can look into Shinra, gather evidence, and put Shinra behind bars," Kairi said sadly as she ran a hand through her hair, sighing as she opened her book, looking over something, trying to go over the algorithms on the pages, but her mind was elsewhere, thinking of Sora, and where he was.

As her thoughts returned back to the day they had seen the files, she could not help but shake her fists against her book. Shinra was a Devil, the Demon that was sitting in the mind of the young man. Taking both Sora and Roxas and experimenting on them was bad enough, but for some reason what they had done to Sora was worse then what they had done to Roxas. She wondered how they had found out Roxas the one they were looking for when Sora seemed to be in the clear. Her mind then wondered how they had managed to get away with so much, maybe it had something to do with the two strangers they had met while the two were exploring the Security area of the Midgar Resort, but who were they? Clearly they wanted Shinra to be taken down, otherwise they would not have successfully gotten them out of there.

Kairi could not help but sigh as she dropped her books. All these thoughts about Sora and ShinraCorp was giving her a headache, and that was the last thing she needed before she went into her History Exam. Shaking her head, she stood up, the others looked towards her, confusion on her face.

"I need to get some fresh air, clear my head so i'm not thinking about Shinra or Sora or anything before i do this exam," Kairi announced as they nodded their head, understanding what she was talking about, but stopped when she continued talking.

"And after that Exam is done, I'm going to see Sora, and make him understand that pushing himself away from everything is not the right thing to do," and the young woman grabbed her book and juice bottle before she began to make her way towards the door when she was stopped by Roxas, who was holding her arm.

"Kairi...you don't know what he is going through," Roxas muttered softly, but Kairi yanked her arm away as she muttered back, "Then i'm going to find out," and before Roxas could make any motion against the idea Kairi had already made her way towards the door, determination was radiating from the auburn haired young woman, who was going to get the truth one way or another.

**_x_**

_Strife Household._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

Sora could not believe what was staring back at him when he looked into the mirror. He was pale, much more then he had been when he first arrived on the Islands and a hell of a lot more then he had been lately. His fingers drew closer to his eye as he pulled the skin back, expecting to see something within his pupils, but only he was looking back. He blinked, and once again he could have sworn that his eyes had changed to gold. Shaking his head, he pulled back the skin under his eye once again, but it was again blue.

His palms instantly hit the sink in front of him, as he suddenly found it extremely hard to stand up on his own. Sora took a breath as he ran a hand through his hair, before he forced himself to steady on his own two feet, and made his way out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. Once he had closed the door, he forced himself not to lie on the floor, and to at least make it to his own bed.

Sitting down, he found that falling asleep was the last thing that he wanted to do. His head buzzed as images flashed through his head. A Suburban area, houses all lined up next to each other, backyards with young kids playing. The kids stopping as they would look at him. Then they were close to him, pushing him to the ground. Sora could feel their hands against his body as he hit the ground. Sora opened his eyes as he found his entire body shaking, and tried to force himself to remain still.

"Hard to forget isn't it Sora?"

Sora groaned as he looked up, Vanitas standing at the door, dressed as he was with his hands in his pocket, and a smirk staining his face. Sora shook his head as he said, "I wasn't the one that did it,"  
Vanitas laughed as he said, "Who are you trying to convince Sora? Me? Or yourself?" the black haired young man walked over to Sora as he stood over him. Sora's head was down, not looking at the Demon in front of him. He shook his head once again as he thought of telling his hallucination to go away, but knew that he wouldn't be so easy to get rid of. So he looked up, forcing his blue eyes to meet golden ones as he said, "What do you remember of Shinra's experimentation of us?"

Vanitas smirked as he muttered, "Finally. You're not trying to get rid of me. You are using me like you were always meant to,"

"Answer my question," Sora ordered as Vanitas smirked, before saying, "They injected you daily with Jenova Cells, a combination of the chemical from the meteor, which held the Biological changing enzyme, Mako which gave you the power, and Materia which gave you the incentive. Or me, as it were," Vanitas said, as Sora took a breath.

"So I'm changing?"

"You foolish boy," Vanitas rounded on Sora, who tried not to flinch as Vanitas said, "You're body has been changing since the very first day you were injected with the Jenova Cells, Your body welcomed it, it was as if it had been apart of you since the very beginning, you were healed from the things Shinra did to you..._I _was healing you from the things Shinra was doing to you, and that was only the beginning, I would make you stronger, faster, _better _then any other human being, even Ventus,"

"His name is Roxas," Sora snarled, and Vanitas coughed out a laugh as he said, "Why do you even care what I call him? He attacked you,"

"He attacked _you _Vanitas, I was just brought along for the ride," Sora snarled, and at this the Demon began to laugh, a laugh that not only rang through the room, but rang through the brain of the brunette.

"Every time, every _single _time you blame every little thing you do on me, from Roxas to Seifer to even the kid, and yet even after being shown the truth you continue to deny it," Vanitas walked towards the window, staring out of it with a smirk on his face.

"Deny what?" Sora asked, and Vanitas waited a moment before he slowly turned around, and Sora almost jumped when he did.

Vanitas now looked exactly like Sora, from the brunette hair to the blue eyes, it was as if he was looking into the mirror once again. Vanitas said slowly, "Deny that you are me,"

Shaking his head, Sora muttered no as he backed to the door, lying down with his knees tucked in and shaking his head. Vanitas walked up to Sora, returning back to the way he normally looked as he muttered, "I'm just a voice in your head Sora, I always have been. Every little emotion you had was yours, I just motivated you to do something about it. I told you, I am your motivation. Every time you got nervous, and was not sure what to do, I was there, whispering in your ear what to do, to attack, to push, to kill...Deep down, that is exactly what you wanted to do, I was just helping you see that,"  
"I'm not a killer," Sora muttered as he shook his head, not believing it, and Vanitas nodded his head as he said, "I know you are not...that's why I am here, so that when you're surrounded by bad people who want nothing more to hurt you, whether they are schoolyard bullies or Terrorists and armed guards, when you continue to think that you are not a killer as your adrenaline is pushed to your limits...I can be there...To remind you that you are,"

The sound of the doorbell ringing caused Sora to raise his head. Vanitas was no longer in the room, and yet Sora could still feel the sweat on his head, and the words that he had said echoing throughout his head.

Forcing himself up as he heard the doorbell once again, he pushed himself out of the room as he headed down the stairs, thankful there was a wall next to him as he used it for support, he made his way towards the door. When he finally had clasped his hand onto the doorknob, he turned it as he looked down, not thinking for a second until that point who it would be, and by that time it was too late to do anything else.

"Sora?"

Sora's eyes widened as he looked up. Kairi was looking directly into his eyes, fear plastered all over his face. For the first time that day, Sora felt very self-conscious about how he looked. Pale, bags under his eyes, and a sickly smell. And yet none of this stopped the young woman from pushing herself into him. The scent of Strawberry shampoo hit his nose as he stood there, not even having the strength to place his arms around the young woman as they stood at the door for Yevon knew how long.

When she eventually let go, she knelt down as she looked him in the eye, his head still down as his eyes tried to gaze away, and yet her strawberry scent was hard to ignore as he looked into her eyes, and slowly opened his dry mouth as he muttered, "I'm losing, Kairi,"

"Losing what?" The young girl asked as she took his hand in her own, and lead him towards the sofa, where they two sat down. Sora took a deep breath, knowing that now was the time to tell her the truth.

"My mind," Sora sighed as he leaned back. Kairi looked confused as she asked, "Is this about the voice in your head," and Sora coughed out a laugh as he looked towards her, managing to leave a small smile on his face before he continued.

"It's been a while since it's just been a voice in my head," Sora sighed as he felt his hand go to his head again. The sweat had stopped, but he still felt clammy. He looked towards Kairi, who seemed to be looking at the young man with confusion layered all over her face, "What do you mean? It hasn't been a voice?"

Sora sighed as he took a deep breath, before he looked into her eyes, taking another deep breath, forcing himself not to let his emotions get the better of him before he began, "Do you remember on the beach, when you and Riku asked what was going on, and I told you I suffered from Split Personality Disorder?" And Kairi nodded her head, remembering the day as if it had happened hours ago.

"What I didn't tell you was that it wasn't just a voice in my head that was affecting me," Sora gulped as he took a deep breath. Kairi was now motionless, not saying a word as she allowed Sora to continue, as he waited a few moments before he took another deep breath.

"I also suffered from a hallucinations, where the voice...it takes the form of a person," Sora said softly, and Kairi gasped, but remained silent as she allowed Sora to continue.

"It's like when the voices would come, but...he appears, and he looks like me...except his hair is jet black, and his eyes are golden...He calls himself...Vanitas," Sora gulped as he looked around again, as Kairi looked at him, saying as she did, "Your eyes..."

Sora nodded as he said, "Golden, which I thought was part of the hallucination, though now I'm starting to think it wasn't part of my head, but a reaction to something..."

"...like the Mako Energy," Kairi muttered, and Sora's eyes widened as he returned back to a few weeks ago, where they had been looking over the Jenova files, as well as what Vanitas had told him just moments before. Jenova Cells were made up of the chemical from the meteor, Materia and Mako Energy. The Mako Energy within the chemical might be what was changing the eye colour of Sora, just like the Hallucination was apart of his condition.

"But what does this Hallucination, this...Vanitas?...have to do with Project Jenova," Kairi asked, and Sora sighed as he remembered the conversation that he had had with Vanitas, before he said, "Something he had said before, Jenova Cells didn't just improve my Strength or my Speed, it also ensured that i would have the will power...to Kill..." Sora said the last part slowly as Kairi remained silent at what she had just heard from Sora, and looked away as Sora sighed, he shook his head as he continued.

"Whenever i would feel nervous about something, be it someone making fun of me or someone bullying me, Vanitas would be there to force me to attack...just like they wanted..." Sora growled as he felt his fist shaking once again. He shook his head once again as Kairi placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Sora, whatever Shinra did to you, and whatever this...Vanitas...tries to make you do, you are stronger,"

"Am I?" Sora jumped up as Kairi looked to him, Sora placing the back of his fist against his head as he felt himself getting a headache, "Every time Seifer would push me he would convince me to fight back, every time Xion or you kissed me, he would try to get me to...do things...with you that i didn't want to do, even when I thought I was in control, I almost killed-" Sora stopped short as he realized that he had gone too far, and stopped as Kairi stood up.

"Almost killed who Sora?" Kairi asked, trembling a little as Sora shook his head, sitting down as Kairi walked over to him, and said rather forcefully, "Sora...who did you almost kill?"

"Kairi, I ca-" but the young woman wasn't going to let him off, as she slammed her fist onto the arm of the chair as she said, "Sora! Tell me who you almost killed!" and Sora flinched as he sighed, but knew that he was already too deep in that he couldn't get out of it. So sighing, he looked into her eyes before he said, "Kairi...what i'm about to tell you, only my Dad knows...and those involved...and it will make your realize how dangerous Vanitas..." Sora stopped as he recalled the conversation he had had with Vanitas before, and sighed, before he continued, "How dangerous I am," and with that, he took a breath as he began.

**_x_**

_Suburban Area_

_Edge_

_One Year Ago..._

**_x_**

The neighborhood was rather large, a long road stretching into the distance, houses on either side. Children were enjoying the sunshine, and the end of school for the week. Some had the sprinklers on, others were relaxing against the Mailbox, talking and enjoying the end of the day and the start of the weekend. But these were't the only kids who were wondering around the street on the warm Friday afternoon.

A young man was walking down the street, both his hands clasping onto the straps of his bag, his spiky brunette hair down as he slowly shifted his feet forward, as if he was trying to make sure he did nothing to stand out, or to cause anyone to notice him.

Unfortunately, this failed to work, as a group of previously laughing teenagers had stopped as they looked at the teenager, before looking towards what appeared to be their group leader, leaning against the fence with his arms crossed, a smirk staining his face as he pushed himself from the fence and walked towards the young man, cupping his hands arounds his mouth as he said, "Yo, Sora!"

The young man stopped short, keeping his head down as he continued walking, now that he was spotted he tried to speed up, but he was no match for the others that were now surrounding him. His grip on the straps of his bag tightened as he kept his head down. The boys looked at him as they laughed, some of them already pushing Sora as he allowed them to push him, his body hitting one of the larger men as he shook his head.

"Where you going Sora? In a hurry to get away from me?" The leader of the group smirked, but Sora forced his head to remain down, not looking any of them in the eye.

This seemed to anger the young boys before him, as they continued to push the young man, the leader finally grabbed him by the scuff on his shirt, forcing his head up as his blue eyes matched the leaders. The bags under his eyes looked like they had been there for at least a few days, as if something had been on his mind for so long that sleep was merely a distant memory. His pale skin was radiating worry, not from the young man in front of him, but rather from something that was bothering him enough to put the heavy bags under his eyes.

"Why don't you look me in the eyes Sora? Are you so much better then me that you can't even look into them?" The leader muttered, his snide voice was now mixed with anger at the young man, as if anything Sora did was the reason why he had hatred in his voice.

Sora remained silent, trying to look away, but no matter where his head turned, there was the cold eyes of the Leader, looking back upon him as he muttered to the young man, "Well, If you're not gonna look me in the eye..." and holding Sora with one hand, he balled the other one into a fist and drove it into Sora's cheek, knocking him out of his hand and onto the ground.

Sora gasped rather loudly, which seemed to echo throughout the neighborhood, causing most of the other children to begin to walk over to see what was going on. Sora fought back tears as the bully grew strength from the cheers of his friends, and the weakness of his victim. Looking from his friends to Sora, he bent down as he said, "Come on Sora! Get up! Fight like a man!" and the leader gave a swift kick to the young man, who gasped for air as he felt the life leaving along with the air from the kick.

Sora heard the jeers from the people around him, the laughter from the cruel children around him, and felt his fist shake. He closed his eyes, trying to close out not just the voices of the children around him, but more so the one that was currently sitting in his own head.

_"You are WEAK, Sora, you can take this man, do it!"_

The young bully smirked as he kicked Sora once again, Sora gasped out loud as he kept his head down, "Look at me! Look at me before I beat you!" The bully laughed as he looked to his friends, all telling him to keep going.

_"You could destroy him now,"_

"You're pathetic Sora,"

_"Attack him now!"_

"Be a man for once in your life!"

_"You're nothing Sora,"_

"Why don't you hit back?"

_"Hit him back!"_

"Hit me!"

_"Hit him!"_

Sora couldn't take it anymore, the shaking was becoming unbelievable painful, and when the leader of the young group went to kick one more time, Sora had lost it.

Before he even had a chance to hit the boy, Sora had grabbed his leg. Pulling himself up, he threw the leader down as he twisted his leg, the crack echoed as the leader screamed in pain. Throwing him down, he looked to the next boy, who went to throw his fist into Sora. The boy, who still had his head down, grabbed the arm and swung it back far enough to break it, his scream mixing with the leaders as he fell to the ground. Sora looked to two boys as he threw his fist at them, the others trying to hold their own arms up in defense, but their defense was nothing compared to the sheer force of Sora's own arms as both were knocked down.

Sora laughed as he enjoyed giving the young boys pain, throwing his fist this way and that, not sure who he was attacking, all he knew was that he enjoyed it. He enjoyed pushing his fist into the faces of the young boys who for months...for _years_ had made his life a living misery. His sight had gone blurry, and all he could hear was the voice within his head, laughing and urging Sora on, to throw punch after punch, and to take them all out, a smile plastered on his face as he continued to attack.

"Sora!"

The sound broke through the voice of his head, it sounded like his father. As he looked up, sight returning to him, Cloud was standing in front of him, his tie loose and his eyes both worried and angry as he said, "Let him go Sora," Sora couldn't understand what Cloud was talking about, until he looked down, and gasped as his eyes widened and the smile dropped faster then it had appeared, Suddenly going more pale then he had been before the event had occurred.

In his hands was a small boy, no older then 8. Both his blue eyes were black, he had bruises developing all over his face, his brown hair was now a mess and his nose was broken, on top of everything it looked like he had passed out. Sora dropped him as he backed off, falling to the ground as he tried to continue to get away, shaking violently as he looked around.

Sora was surrounded by his tormentors, all who were either crying in pain or knocked out. Surrounding them was the neighborhood children, and some adults who were all gasping.

"Come on Sora, you have to get up, Now!" Cloud muttered as he looked around, the adults starting to move towards Sora. Sora nodded his head, the voice now gone as he slowly got up, and allowed Cloud to lead him back to the house. He could barely feel the hands of the others trying to touch him as a scream was heard. Sora knew it was the mother of the young boy as Cloud lead him to the house. Opening the door, he said, "You stay inside, don't open the door until I get back, you understand?" and Sora nodded his head as Cloud closed the door.

Sora locked it as he turned around. His eyes still widened at what he had just done. Taking a breath, he felt the sickness coming as he bent his head, throwing up on the floor. Still shaking, he moved to the couch, where he lied down, what he had just done going through his head over and over again, while the screams and shouts of the neighborhood was nothing compared to the voice in his head, who continued to laugh even after Sora was in control, shaking on the couch, closing his eyes as he wished that the entire world would go away, and that he could be left in an empty world, where he would not only allow the rest of the world to be safe, but also cease to cause pain to those he loved.

**_x_**

_Strife Household._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

"...When Dad got back, he told me that the young boy had been taken to hospital, apparently in my rage, he had pushed his way to see what was going on, and i had grabbed him...His name was Denzel, i had seen him once or twice while walking home, but..." Sora trailed off as Kairi looked at him, mouth to hand and shock leaking from her eyes.

Sora could not bare to look at her as he took a breath, before saying, "Most of the neighborhood wanted me behind bars, but dad told them that i had suffered a psychotic breakdown, using his reach within the WRO I gained a pardon on the condition that it wouldn't happen again, and that i would be trained to have it under control...dad never told them that i had meditation techniques that should have brought it under control," Sora muttered as he looked away from her.

"So, if you had the meditation, how come you flew into the rage?" Kairi asked, and Sora sighed as he looked to her, before lowering his eyes to the ground as he said, "I thought i was better...i had gone a month without hearing so much as a whisper from Vanitas, i thought it was all gone...So i stopped doing the meditation," Sora allowed a tear to drip from his face as he shook his head, trying to steady his voice as he said, "The morning of the attack, He appeared, crushing the defenses i had set up for years, sitting on the very edge of my brain, whispering throughout the day until i snapped,"

Kairi looked at him as she said, "Sora..." but Sora shook his head as he said, "But after that, I knew nothing was going to be the same," Sora sighed as he felt the sweat coming from his head, as he wiped it before he continued, "Dad knew the pressure of continuing the live in the area, as well as knowing that continuing to live there would just drive up the pressure, so we sold our house, packed up, and moved here," Sora sighed as he felt Kairi place her hand on his back, saying once again, "Sora..." Not sure what else to say. He sighed as nodded his head, before he felt the pressure against his head, and Vanitas growing louder and louder within his head.

"Kairi," He sighed as he got up, feeling the headache grow, the memories of what he had done a year ago were pushing harder and harder against his head, as he felt Vanitas getting louder as he waved his hands.

"Whats wrong?" Kairi asked, but Sora couldn't hear her, as Vanitas was talking too loudly for Sora to hear her clearly, _"This stupid woman has toyed with your emotions time and time again, and yet you continue to listen to her?" _Sora closed his eyes as he felt the pain, and was afraid what he was going to do. Was he going to strike her like he did young Denzel? What was he capable of? Sora felt the pit in his stomach as he said, "You have to go Kairi, before I-"

But Sora could not finish his warning to the young woman as he was swung around, Kairi placed her cold hands on his equally cold cheek, before she leaned forward and kissed him, not as forcefully as she had done previously, but soft. Sora's eyes widened, at first scared that Vanitas would do something to the young girl, her being so close to him he would do something he would regret.

But as the kiss continued, Sora felt the fear melt away. Vanitas' voice had melted away, his laughter was now gone, and all that remained was both Sora and Kairi, standing in the living room, kissing. Sora closed his eyes as he wrapped his hands around the young woman, and Kairi had moved her hands away from his cheek and wrapped them around him.

The two stood there in happiness for a while before Kairi withdrew, biting her lips as she smiled, before she looked at Sora as she touched his face, "Sora...you're not pale anymore,"

Sora's eyes widened as he looked at the reflection, and the once pale face that had stared back at him now had returned to color. It was as if her kiss had completely restored Sora to normality, instead of being possessed by the thoughts of Vanitas. He grazed his hands against his face, which felt warm, before he looked towards Kairi, saying as he did, "I'm...normal..."

Kairi gave him a reassuring smile as she said, "You've always been Normal Sora," and Sora looked like he was going to say something against it, But the young woman held her hand up as she continued, "Whatever Shirna did to you, whatever you think you are because of it, you are you Sora, and Vanitas is Vanitas. You can't think that Vanitas makes you who you are, because Vanitas was created to turn you into a weapon, but you can decide for yourself what you are, not what Shinra wants you to do," and Kairi lightly kissed the young man again, as Sora smiled into the kiss, backing away first this time as he smiled at the young girl. He had expected Vanitas to deny what the young woman was saying, but there was nothing in his head, just the young woman before him.

"Looks like you're the thing that can truly keep Vanitas at bay," Sora grinned slightly as he felt the warmth over his entire body, and the young woman said, "It's not just me, everyone is here for you Sora, you just never had the chance to see it until you met us," and Sora thanked the young woman before Kairi nodded her head, before walking away as she said, "Right, now, where is your guitar? Do you know our musical practical is next week and we haven't even chosen a song,"

Sora smirked as he pointed up stairs as Kairi turned and made her way up the stairs. As Sora watched her legs disappear upstairs, he sat down as he smiled, a revelation forming in his head. ShinraCorp had designed him as a weapon, taking away a life that he might have been able to have, and Vanitas had shaped him into someone who would be the perfect weapon, a destructive force that could destroy enemies with a single punch. But with his friends beside him, he would have a good chance to keep Vanitas completely at bay without the need to meditate every day for hours upon end. With their help, he could live the life that he wanted, and not the one that Shinra wanted.

He could live his life the way he wanted, not the one Vanitas wanted.

**_x_**

**Well, this was written rather quickly, though I'm not complaining at all =P **

**So how did you enjoy the chapter? Seems like all of Sora's secrets have finally been revealed. But just because Sora's secrets are out in the open, doesn't mean i don't have surprises still around the corner, else why would you even bother reading if you had all the information in front of you xD**

**A huge thank you as i always do to the lovely people who read the chapter. You guys continue to make me happy with your lovely reviews, and so long as people keep wanting an update, I'll keep updating...whether that means i update in a week, or seven...though hopefully that won't be the case, aha...ha...anyway, a big thank you to **soushin5, R. Recollect, Random Reader 17, DestinyKeyblader28, Xerzo LotCN, The V-Blade, Getsuga TENSHOU 15, Fluoricia, EthanFlux and Flying By Wire.

**So, hopefully a new chapter will be out soon. I will say that it's graduation time for the Critical (Or Senior) Students of Twilight Heights High, which means a Graduation dance is scheduled, and something big is going to happen, and Sora is going to do something rather dangerous, but that's all i'll say for now =P**

**Remember to read, subscribe, favorite and review guys, you know i love hearing what you say, and the more reviews i get, the more motivated i get to write up a new chapter (NudgeNudgeWinkWinkHintHint) **

**Regards to All.**

**Jared Someone.**


	29. Graduation

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_XXVIII_**

**_x_**

_Strife Household._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

Sora arose for the first time without his alarm clock that year as he looked around. Outside was still dark, but Sora wasn't worried about getting any more sleep. His arm reached over to his phone, as the touch instantly lit the phone up, Sora looked at the time and instantly jumped up. He rushed to the computer as he logged on, typing something into the web browser as he waited for it to load up.

Sora had finished school a few weeks ago, his last exam being his practical music exam with Kairi, both had felt that they had done extremely well. The days had been spent either relaxing on the beach, spending time in Dawn, or just watching old movies with blankets covering his cold body. The days drawing up to today had grown quicker and quicker, the day where two things would be happening that would change his life forever. One was the Graduation which would be happening a few hours from now, but the other was far more important. His exam results would be up online in 3...2...1...

Sora typed in his Student I.D and Password, and waited as a loading circle appeared, every time the loading went full circle, he felt his heart beat grow louder and louder. When the page finally loaded, he could have sworn his heart skipped a beat as the results appeared:

_English - 93_

_Maths - 91_

_Languages - 84_

_Science - 87_

_Music - 99_

Sora sighed and laughed in relief as he typed the numbers down into his phone's note application, before he found his final Mark: _95. _And with that, Sora cheered as he jumped up and down, not caring that footsteps were coming up the stairs, or that his door was opened and a still sleepy Cloud with blonde bed hair looked at his son through his tired eyes, saying as he did, "Sora, what the hell..."

"Dad, 95, I got a 95!" Sora cheered, and Cloud couldn't work out what his son was on about until he had made the connection between Sora jumping up and down and the computer which held the marks, to which Cloud instantly snapped out of his sleep as he roared in happiness, jumping up and down, being clearly a lot louder then his son, who stopped cheering as loudly as his father as he said, "Dad, you're gonna wake the neighbours,"

"I don't care!" Cloud whooped as he ran to Sora's window, opened it and shouted from the top of his lungs, "MY SON GOT 95!"

"NOBODY CARES!" came the response from the other side of the road, and Cloud flipped the person off as he closed the window, still jumping up and down as he grabbed his son, shaking him and saying, "I'm so proud of you son," and hugged him as Sora spluttered, before Cloud said, "So, despite skipping school a lot of the time, you managed to get a 95,"

"Guess all my hard work on assignments and essays got me over the line," Sora smirked as Cloud hugged his son as he said, "Way over the line it looks like," and Sora smirked as he heard his phone vibrate on the table. Cloud let his son go as Sora made his way towards the desk, where he looked at the phone with a smirk on his face.

**_Text message from_** **_Kairi:  
_**_97 Bitches! what did you all get?_

Sora smirked at the young woman's response, Kairi had always been competitive when it came to her marks, though Sora was glad that she had beat him only by 2 marks. Texting back his response, he dropped his phone on his bed as he looked towards his father, and both smirked as Cloud said, "Right, i'll let you get ready, Graduation day today," and Sora smirked as Cloud moved out towards the door.

Sora smirked as he went for his shower, when he returned he found a lot more messages on his phone, more of his friends sending him their results and asking what he had got. As he changed into his finest clothing (a pair of black suit pants, a white shirt and a green and gold tie) he was busy replying to messages as well. As he sent the last text message, he grabbed his black gown and hat before he made his way downstairs.

Cloud was sitting at the table, paper in his hand, but Sora could tell that his father had a giant smile on his face, probably because of the bacon and egg breakfast that was currently placed where Sora normally sat. Sora smirked as he looked at his father, saying as he did, "Really? Right when i'm wearing a white shirt,"

"Wear a bib then," Sora chuckled at his fathers response as he sat down, spending a good half an hour as he slowly cut his meal and placed it into his mouth. When he had finished the last bite of bacon, he wiped his mouth before looking down, happy that he had managed to keep his white shirt clean as he grinned, Cloud looked down from his paper as he nodded his head, before he placed the paper down and looked at his watch, "I better get ready to if i'm going to take you to your graduation," and Cloud got up as he made his way out of the room. Sora smirked as he straightened his tie, before he got up and placed his dishes into the sink.

Moving to the living room, he looked at his phone as he texted the others, all stating that he would be at the school within half an hour. Sora's pupils gazed above him as he heard his father's terrible singing, and sighed as he texted back that he would be late as he pressed send, before sitting down.

Sora smiled as his mind returned to the year that had just passed, of all the things that he had gone through, from Vanitas to Shinra to the friends that he had made. Less then a year ago he had spent most of his time in isolation, not talking to a single human being, and yet now he had made friends, was apart of a sports team, and even had a girlfriend...well, he wasn't sure what he classed Kairi at the moment, since they had never officially gone on a date, what with the whole 'experiment' thing going on within Sora's mind, though after everything they had gone through, the least Sora could do was offer the young woman a burger, which he promised himself he would do after graduation.

Sora didn't have to wait long before Cloud had made his way down the stairs, dressed in a rather fine suit with a red tie. Sora whistled as he father did a mock bow, before he smirked, and said, "Well, not as good as you Sora," to which Sora himself bowed before he reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone to look at the time, saying as he did, "We better get going if we're going to make it," Sora got up and made his way out of the house and towards the door. As the exited, Sora took a deep breath, with his gown and hat under one hand, and his phone in another as he typed something towards Riku, saying he would be there in a short while.

It wasn't long before they were on the road, Cloud tapping his hands, a small grin on his face. Sora smirked as he looked from his father to outside and back again. The small grin had spread over his face, and Sora couldn't help but say, "Alright, not even I am this excited to graduate, what are you hiding?"

"Nothing," Cloud said in a sly voice, and Sora couldn't help but chuckle as he said, "Come on dad, whats up?"

Cloud chuckled once again as he said, "Alright, I was hoping to save this for later, but i might as well tell you now," and Sora looked at him with a small confused look as his father took a deep breath before he continued.

"I'm thinking of starting my own delivery business," Cloud grinned as Sora looked at him, not sure what to say to it. Waiting for a few moments, Sora eventually said, "You're gonna own your own delivery service?"

"Yeah, I mean i've made some close contacts with small business owners, and the WRO and SeeD have said they'll help me gain some business, I thought I would start by own one," Cloud smirked, and Sora nodded his head as he asked, "So, what are you going to call this business?"

"Strife Delivery Service," Cloud grinned, to which Sora sweat dropped as he said, "Really?"

"Why? Whats wrong with that?" Cloud asked as Sora looked out the window, saying as he did, "Everything, try think of something original, like 'ChocoboMail' or 'FinalDelivery' or something catchy that-"

"We're here," Cloud announced as he cut his son off as he packed the car, Sora looking around as he noticed all the other cars parking near Twilight Heights High, with most of the kids and parents making their way towards the hall area on the right hand side. Sora opened the car door to make his way out, saying before he left, "This is not over," and the young man heard his father laugh as he walked towards the building, where surrounding it were other parents and students, the latter were all wearing the same gowns and hats that Sora currently had on. He smirked as he looked around, waving to some of his friends who all looked way more excited then he did. He looked around before he took a deep breath, and walked into the hall.

The area wasn't too packed, but it was starting to fill up. There were a couple of hundred seats for both parents and also students, with the students allocated up the front, and parents up the back. Sora took a deep breath as he looked around, looking at the other students rather nervous, but as he heard his name being called out, he smirked as he found Kairi waving at him, and the others all standing around. Sora walked towards them, about to say hello, but was caught slightly off guard when Kairi had wrapped her hands around him and given a light kiss.

"Wow, so that's a thing now?" Axel asked and Riku smirked at the two. Sora felt the back of his ears glowing a slight red, not sure how to respond to that question, but felt himself smile as Kairi said, "We haven't confirmed anything yet,"

"Well in that case, can I get a kiss then?" Axel smirked, and Kairi rose her eyebrow as she leaned forward and lightly slapped Axel's cheek a couple of times before she said, "In your dreams buddy,"

"Ouch," Axel smirked as Sora felt himself getting a little jealous, but it didn't last too long as Kairi slipped her hand into Sora's, looking at him with a small smile on her face. Sora nodded his head as he looked around, saying as he did, "Looks like we all passed then," and the others nodded with grins staining their face as they looked around at the other smiling faces around them. Sora sighed as he looked at each and every one of them. By tomorrow he wouldn't be seeing any of the strange faces around them, and in a few months Sora wouldn't be able to tell these faces from a strangers on the street. Even now he could only recognise a few, though Sora really wasn't one to remember each and every face in his class, he would have liked to talk to all of them, find out who they were and what their story was, but it was too late now.

Feeling himself getting more solemn then he would have liked, he turned to those that he would hopefully stay in contact with for a long time before saying, "So, end of School, what are your plan's guys?"

Roxas was the first to answer as he took a breath before saying, "Gap Year, me and Namine are going to travel to Gran Pulse, Spira, Balamb for the next few months before we go to uni," and Namine nodded her head before going bright red as Roxas leaned forward and gave a small kiss to the young woman. Sora and Kairi both laughed at this lightly as Riku was the next to say what his plans were.

"Well, with any luck I'll be at Oblivion University next year doing a Mark of Mastery in Criminology, and with dad's position i'll be doing my training for SeeD as well, he want's me to a Field Agent in three years, though I think he is pushing it," and the others chuckled as Sora looked to his best friend, who seemed to be excited to go, though Sora hoped that it was his choice and not someone else's.

"Come on Axel, you're next," Roxas nudged his best friend as Axel smirked, before he shrugged, saying as he did, "I dunno, I might travel as well, picking up babes and causing all sorts of trouble," the man winked as the men gave each other a high five and the women rolled their eyes, but as the young man cleared his throat, he continued, "Still, I might follow in my dad's footsteps, do a Mark of Mastery in Biology," Sora looked at the fire-red head young man. He had never asked about his father, though from the way Axel was looking he knew better then to ask at that moment, and that the conversation was for another time.

Everyone turned from Axel to Xion as they asked her. She coughed a bit as she let out a small chuckle, before saying, "Well, with my marks I'm hoping to get into Oblivion to do a Mark of Mastery in Law," and at that the others looked at each other in shock, before roaring with laughter as Xion began to grow red, saying as she did, "What's wrong with that?"

"I'm Sorry, but Xion, Party Girl Flirts-with-everyone Xion is planning to study Law? Please tell me you see the irony," Roxas wiped the tears of joy from his eye as he looked towards her, as she crossed her arms in a tiny bit of anger, before Sora calmed everyone down, saying as he did, "Hey, let's be glad that when Riku is getting arrested for trading military secrets or Axel is getting arrested for public nudity, Xion will be there for us," and the others all laughed as Xion, who seemed to have lightened up from this said, "Well, i was thinking more along the lines of District Attorney of the Destiny Islands,"

"Oh, so you'll be the one charging Axel then," Kairi smirked as the others laughed, Axel pretending to be cross, but his act not lasting too long as he realised that it was probably the truth.

Once everyone had stopped laughing, Riku turned to Kairi as he asked her, "So, what are your plans?" and Kairi smiled as she said, "After New Years, I'm heading off to Gaia where i'll be enrolling in the Gaian Police Academy, i'm hoping that by the end of next year i'll be an officer, and in four years i'll be a Detective,"

"Detective Kairi Farron," Riku smirked as he gave the young woman a mock bow, as Axel said, "Hopefully you don't put the cuffs on too tight when you arrest me for public indecency,"

"Oh, that is definitely not my devision," Kairi smirked as she looked towards Sora, who seemed to be enjoying his time talking as she asked him, "So what are you planning Sora?"

The young boy stopped as he looked into the eyes of his friends all looking towards him. What was he going to do? To be perfectly blunt, Sora didn't know. He had always assumed that he would have been driven crazy before he would be allowed to attend school, and was almost positive that he wouldn't get a chance to finish it. But now that he was there on his graduation day, he found that the rest of his life had snuck up on him rather quickly...and rudely.

"Well, I guess i would be interested in studying Psychology, you know finding out what makes people tick, and I guess it would help me figure out...well..." Sora trailed off as he looked towards Kairi, and the others looked towards him as they realised what he was talking about, scratching the back of their heads at the sudden awkward moment, not sure how to change it, until one of them managed to trump it by creating an even more awkward situation.

"Mum!? Dad!? What are you guys doing here?!"

Everyone stopped looking at Sora and concentrated on a spot behind him. Sora looked at Riku with a dropped jaw, and turned around to see what was behind him, the sight not what he was expecting at all.

Arm in arm two people, a man and women made their way towards the group. The man Sora instantly recognised as Squall Leonhart, dressed in a fine suit and his brown hair combed down as he smiled at the two. Grasping his hand however was a woman that he did not recognise.

The first thing he could say about the woman was that she was beautiful. She had to be a model, It would not be a stretch of the imagination to believe that the head of SeeD could get a model as a date to his son's graduation, but as the woman moved her black hair out of her eyes, and Sora caught sight of the dark brown eyes, he realised he had seen her before, perhaps in a TV commercial, or some sort of televised event.

"Hello Mrs Leonhart," Kairi called out with a grin, and the woman flashed one back as she said, "Dear, you know you can call me Rinoa," and it was at that moment that it had clicked. Rinoa Leonhart-Heartilly, the head of Heartilly Fashion. It made sense, the woman was dressed in a elegant blue dress that seemed to shine with her every step.

Rinoa smiled at all the young men and women there, but when her eyes reached Sora, she looked at him with a puzzled look. Knowing that this was their first meeting, Sora outstretched his hand has he said, "Sora Strife, Pleasure," and Rinoa shook his hand as she said, "Polite, I like that,"

Sora looked down and smirked before looking at Kairi, who had a tiny glint of jealous in her eyes. But giving her a convincing smirk, it was gone and forgotten as he saw Kairi's mother make her way behind her, slapping her shoulders as she said, "Looks like I found you Kairi,"

"Oh, yay," Kairi said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes to Sora, before turning around and giving her mother a hug, before Claire looked towards Rinoa and said, "Rinoa! good to see you again,"

"After that last shot battle, I'm surprised to see you still standing...and able to carry a weapon," Rinoa moved from her husband and planted a kiss on the young woman's cheek.

"Shot battle?" Sora turned to Kairi, and Kairi shook her head as she said, "Don't ask," to which Sora smirked as he felt his own shoulders being slapped, flinching a tiny bit before he looked up and saw his father standing above him, saying as he did, "Is this where all the parents are embarrassing their children," and proceeded to pinch Sora's cheeks.

"Dad!" Sora slapped his fathers hands away from his face as the others laughed, Sora grumbling as he watched Aerith walked up and smile at her own son. Sora smirked as he looked at Namine, who was already in a conversation with Tifa who seemed to appear out of no where as if she had come straight from the bar. Axel seemed to be the only one without a parent, and yet the young man didn't seem to mind as he looked around shamelessly at some of the other women around the hall. Sora smirked as he looked from Axel to Namine and her hand and saw that it was still connected to Roxas'. Sora couldn't help but let out a small laugh when he looked towards Tifa, who was busy eyeing Roxas and their hands together. But as his eyes drifted over to Claire, who seemed to have her own eyes staring at Sora and her daughter's hands locked together, Sora's laughter died as he looked down, and then towards Riku, who seemed to be half puzzled half pissed that his parents were there as they hugged him and told him how proud they were. As his mother finished hugging her son, Rinoa looked towards Squall as she said, "Come on then, we better find some seats," and the other parents agreed as they finished hugging their own children, before moving towards the back of the numerous seats.

As Cloud and Aerith slipped their hands in each other and made their way towards their seat, Axel slyly moved towards Riku as he watched his parents sit down, saying as he did, "Hey, weren't your parents meant to-,"

"Yep," Riku muttered as he plastered a smile on his face and waved at his mother.

"So that party won't be-" Axel continued.

"Yep,"

"And you'll have to find-"

"Yes!" Riku said in a rather irritated tone as he waited for his parents to turn before he reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone, texting an unknown source rather ferociously.

The sudden tapping of the mic caused everyone to look towards the front. Principle Merlin was standing up on stage, telling everyone through his action that they were ready to begin. Looking to his friends, they all silently made their way towards the front area of the hall. Sora looked over the seats, all of which had the names of the students on the chairs in neat cursive writing. Sora watched as the others made their way to their designated seats, Sora feeling Kairi's hand slipping from his own as she went to sit near the front, while Sora had made his way towards the back, where he found his name quite close to the side. Only having to squeeze through one girl, he flashed a nervous smile as the girl pushed her knees back, allowing Sora to get to his seat without too much trouble.

Sora sighed as he looked around, watching as more people began to make their way towards their seats. It wasn't too long before all the seats were filled and the parents had all taken their seats.

"Good Morning Students, Parents and Teachers of this years Graduation Class," Boomed Principal Merlin as he smiled at the people in front of him. The parents all smiled with Joy, the teachers all grinning with pride, and the students all sitting in their chairs with a mixture of the two.

"Today we are honoured to see these students not only gain their graduations, but also be their first step on the staircase which is life," Merlin looked over the students as Sora couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, clearly the Principal had written his speech without anyone checking it.

"But first, let me tell you what it has been like being the Principal over these wonderful minds..." Sora almost let a groan escape his lips, but held himself in check as he stretched into his seat. This was going to take a while, and without any sort of program who knew when the speech would be done.

It was then that Sora felt it, the heat from his head. Had it just gotten hot all of a sudden? Sora unbuttoned the top button of his shirt as he loosened his tie, reaching for his head as he felt the sweat forming on his forehead.

"Are you alright?" A young woman looked to him, Sora nodded his head as he tried to give a confident smile, but failed as he felt the pain in his stomach, the same one he had been feeling around the time he had gone to the Midgar Resort, the pain that Vanitas had told him was the change in his body, creating him as a weapon.

Resting his eyes, he felt the whole world spin around him. Was he going to be sick? No, not at the graduation ceremony. The last thing he needed was for the day to be ruined by him being sick. Sora tried to shake is head, but this only caused the sickness to become more painful.

Sora knew that if he didn't get out of the hall that moment, he would face the entire hall staring at him as he feinted. So slowly standing up, he excused himself past the few people sitting near him, all whom instantly had worried or annoyed looks on their faces. Once he had reached the end of his row, Sora spent half his energy trying to remain conscious, and the other half not to run to the bathroom as fast as he could.

Once had had breached the doors into the front room, his energy spent not running was broken as he rushed to the bathroom, Feeling the pain move from stomach to the rest of his body, he managed to burst through the male bathroom, and found the nearest cubical. But before he could manage to get inside one of the cubicles, he felt the pain take over, and dropping to his knees, he hit the cold floor as the entire world around him turned into darkness.

**_x_**

_Hallow Bastion Psychological Rehabilitation Asylum._

_Hallow Bastion._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

Aqua sighed as she looked over her computer, starring at the 12 or so technicians all at their desks typing something into their computers. Her eyes drifted from the scientists to the large screen in front of them, and sighed as numbers and graphs were moving every so often over the screen. Stretching her arms in her seat, She looked back at her screen, closing emails and responding when need be.

Yawning, she looked towards her cup of coffee, which she could have sworn had been filled only moments ago, "Long day," She muttered as she picked up the empty cup, still being able to feel the heat from the mug despite it being empty. Aqua got up as she stretched, before she made her way towards the door, when suddenly an alarm went off, causing Aqua to almost drop her cup.

Placing it down onto the table, she made her way out of the glass office and stood against the banister as she looked from the Screen to the Technicians and back again, not even having to ask what was going on as one of the young women shouted out, "Ma'am, Large energy spike coming from the Destiny Islands!"

"Link us to the Energy Monitoring Station there," Aqua ordered as all of the technicians went into overdrive, typing and making calls, before in a few minutes a scan of the Destiny Islands was on the screen, and a large red circle was across a fourth of the entire state.

"Oh my..." Aqua lost all sense of authority before she shook her head, saying as she did, "Have we got any reports on what kind of radiation that is?" Aqua almost ready to call a statewide evacuation.

"Working on it now!" A young male called out as he typed something into the screen and shouted into a phone, Aqua stared at him and nobody else as she watched him type one more thing in, his shouting almost gone as he dropped the phone and typed something onto the screen, before grabbing his own sTab+ and ran as fast as he could towards the woman.

"What did you find," Aqua removed her glasses from her pocket and ignored the others running around gathering information as the young man muttered, "I'm...not quite sure,"

"What do you mean?" Aqua asked as he looked from the man to the tablet as she took it off his hands and began scrolling through.

"The Energy Monitoring Station says that the Radiation is identified as an Extremely large Mako Leak, but..." The man stopped as he tried to phase the words, but Aqua was not interested in the rest as she handed back the Tablet and said, "Call the Mako Reactor Staff, call the WRO, we need to get a quarantine in there ASAP, I'll call-" Aqua was about ready to walk out of the area, but was stopped by the young man's shout, "Dr. Villiers!"

The woman stopped as she turned around slowly to face the young man as he walked towards her, scrolling and typing as he handed back the tablet and said, "Like I said, the Radiation is Mako, but...when the scanners tried to find out the toxic levels...it was revealed that there is no harm caused from this Radiation,"

Aqua's eyes slowly opened as she took back the tablet, looking over the information as she realised where she had seen this before, she looked up as the man said, "On a hunch I looked up whether this energy had shown up before, and the search only showed one time," and reaching over, he swiped one more time, and Aqua's eyes widened as she looked at the graph, and said but three words.

"New Years Day," and the young man nodded in response.

Handing back the tablet, she tried to keep her breath steady as she said to the nearest technician, "I need the security footage of Twilight Heights High School cross referenced with the same time the energy spike occurred," and the technician nodded as he typed into the keyboard, bringing up the footage on screen as he began to scroll through the empty corridors, the cafeteria area, the hall full of students and parents, and finally...

"There!" The scientist cried out, though it was unnecessary as everyone in the school could see the young man lying on the floor passed out.

"I'm bringing up the radiation, this bathroom seems to be in the middle of the event," one of the young women had called out, but Aqua was more interested in the young man on the video, "Run Size and Facial Recognition," The woman ordered, and people began to type as fast as they could as the outline of the man was traced, before an image of the young man, using his brown hair as help with the recognition began to scan over the countless students at Twilight Heights High, until one picture stopped, with the words _97% match _flashing in green on the screen, the name appearing under the picture.

"Sora Strife," Aqua muttered as the technicians began to gather information as it appeared on the screen.

"Born March 5th 1994, spent most of his life at Hallow Bastion, he was diagnosed with a rare form of Split Personality Disorder and prone to Psychological Hallucinations , Adopted by Former Guardian Corps and WRO Agent Cloud Strife, was involved in an incident in 2012 where he attacked several students and one young boy of his neighbourhood...the charges seemed to have been dropped when Cloud used his influence both as a former WRO agent and a part of the community, and also moved to the Destiny Islands where he currently resides.

Aqua stared in silence at the young man on the front of the screen, looking over him before she made her way out of the room, the technicians all looking at her as Aqua picked up her phone, pushing in a number as she held up the phone to her hand, waiting a few moments before the phone was answered.

"President Shinra...we have the other one..."

**_x_**

_Twilight Heights High School_

_Destiny Islands_

_hours later..._

**_x_**

"...Sora!"

_"The key Sora,"_

"Sora! Are you ok?!"

_"The final answers you've been looking for,"_

"Give him some room, he cannot breath!"

_"They lie at the centre of Shinra,"_

"Sora, wake up!"

_"...In Edge,"_

Sora groaned as he felt the eyes of dozens of people starring at him, ranging from the principal of the school to his friends to his own father right by his side. The light returned to normal as Sora made to get up, but was forced down as he heard the principal say, "Don't move Sora, the ambulance is on its way,"

Ambulance? Why would he need an ambulance? He had only been out for a few moments. But as the seconds began to roll by, he started to question why everyone was there, and not at the graduation. Sora then put two and two together as he groaned and asked the question he was fearing to ask.

"How long have I been out?" And Cloud looked to his son as he said, "A few hours, it's ok though. We'll have you at the hospital in no time,"

"Dad, honestly I am fine, I was just a little dehydrated and I fainted, but I'm ok now," Sora again made to get up, but was pushed back down again, this time by his own father.

"Nobody goes out cold for a couple of hours because they're dehydrated Sora, something is wrong," Cloud muttered, and Sora looked to his father with scepticism plastered over his face as he asked, "I didn't know you were a doctor dad,"

But before Cloud could retort, a female voice came from behind the exit of the bathroom, "If anyone would like the opinion of a real doctor, would you please allow me to examine him!"

"Oh Yevon," Sora groaned as he realised it was the voice of Dr. Aerith Gainsborough, and started to wonder who else was behind the door. As Cloud nodded his head, Sora saw Riku, who looked even more pale then Sora was at that moment, stand up and make his way towards the door.

As he opened the door, Sora forced his neck up as he saw a crowd of people standing at the door, trying to get a better look of Sora. The young man groaned once again as he let his head softly hit the tiles before a single people managed to dart into the bathroom.

"Out of my way, clear the area!" The order of the young woman was met with utter obedience as the half a dozen or so people moved away, allowing Aerith to get towards Sora. The young mans eyes darted from Aerith to his father, and the principal, to Riku, Axel and Roxas who were looking at Sora with worry on their faces, to a couple of other official looking people who were busy muttering something Sora couldn't hear, and the back to Aerith.

"So, how bad is it? Think I'm gonna get a cold due to being on this freezing tiles for a few hours?" And Aerith looked at the young man in a stern way, but Sora couldn't miss the small grin that had appeared on her face moments beforehand, So Sora remained quite as he looked at Aerith checking everything from his pulse to his temperature to his retinas to even the colour of his tongue, before she stood up and said, "By all accounts, Sora is fine, seems he has healed quite nicely,"

"Thank you," Sora said as he went to stand up for the third time, this time succeeding as he stretched once he was on his feet. Aerith still looked a little wary, as did the others, as Sora looked around and said, "Guys, I am fine I promise...though if you could thin the crowd a little out there that would be much appreciative," Sora looked towards Merlin as the man nodded, before making his way out of the bathroom and towards the crowd.

Sora sighed as he scratched his head, before he moved away from the adults and towards his friends, feeling the awkwardness grow with every step he made towards them, before saying, "So, how bad was it?"

"Pretty ba-" Axel was cut short with the swift elbow-to-stomach from Riku before Roxas said, "Nahh, it was fine..."

Sora raised his eyebrow. Axel was still trying to get his breath and he knew he wouldn't get the truth from Roxas, so Sora looked towards Riku and crossed his arms, only having to wait a few moments before Riku responded.

"Alright, when they called your name up and nobody answered, we all got a little worried, and when we saw your dad trying to find you after the ceremony, that worry grew to panic, so we split up to try and find you..."

"How many people know?" Sora asked, and instantly the man knew from Riku's scratching of the back of the head was anything but good as the young man sighed. Axel, who had finally managed to get the wind back into his lungs said, "We may have been calling your name out so loud it grabbed the attention of every other people around here,"

_Great _thought Sora as he looked to Riku to continue the Story, which he did, "So we all starting to look for you, and eventually I found you in the bathroom rolling around on the floor, so i got everyone else, and you know the rest,"

Sora groaned once again as he scratched the back of his head, before he heard his father end his conversation with Aerith with a kiss and walked up to Sora, "By the way, I grabbed this for you, seeing as you were in here when they presented it," and Cloud handed him a folder. Sora took it and opened it up, a tiny look of awe on his face when he saw it.

To anyone else it would have merely been a piece of paper saying he had graduated, albeit a very nice graduation certificate but one nonetheless. However, to Sora, it was something more, it was the symbol of his hard work, how despite the fact he had spent most of his waking life in a cell being told that he was insane. And yes, sometimes he had felt that Vanitas had gotten in the way when it came to his hard work, but this paper proved otherwise, not only to those around him, but also to himself.

Sora allowed a smile to escape as he placed the certificate back into its folder and handed it back to his father, saying as he did, "Hang on to this for me dad, odd's are i'm going to lose it,"

Cloud smirked as Principal Merlin opened the door once again, saying as he did, "Alright, i've thinned the crowd, all yours Sora," and the young man nodded his head in appreciation as he made his way out of the bathroom.

Sora only got a second of seeing the few students that had lingered on before Kairi had thrown herself at the young man, hugging him as Sora felt the wind leave his stomach forcefully, "Kairi, I'm fine," Sora managed to get out as Kairi tightened her hold of the young man.

"I know," Kairi muttered as Sora gave a reassuring smile, knowing that she had been worried about him. Moving his head away, Sora managed to see the very last of the tears leave her eyes as he reached out and with his thumb wiped away the tear, saying as he did, "I Promise, I'm ok,"

"But what if-" Kairi was stopped short of her sentence as this time Sora hugged her, whispering into her ear as he did, "What if nothing Kairi, I'm ok, so theres no use worrying about an alternate scenario," and once Sora had felt the young woman nodding against the side of his head, he let her go, giving her a smile as he said, "Come on, let's get going,"

Sora and Kairi were the first to leave the hall, stepping out into the bright sunlight, seeing to the left the stadium, and a bit of a fair walk towards the school. The two forgot about the group behind them as they took their steps, looking over the many students getting photos with friends and parents talking with other parents about which universities and colleges their children were going to next.

As they made their way through the crowd of children, Sora felt the eyes of other students starring. Their small smirks were enough for Sora to figure out what they were thinking, and indeed at first he had tightened his grip in Kairi's hand at the thought they were mocking him for feinting during the graduation ceremony. But before his heart could even speed up, the feeling was gone. Sora thought it was strange, until he looked to Kairi who had a confident smile on her face, staring past the crowd of teenagers, and suddenly Sora felt nothing for these random faces. Their opinion didn't matter to him in the slightest, when would Sora ever see these people ever again? He might run into them one day on the street, or even appear in the same lecture hall, maybe it would stretch to a short conversation about how life was going. But at the end of the day, in 10 or 20 years, he would not give them a second thought. So why should he care what they thought of him in that moment?

So following Kairi's attitude, he plastered a smile on his own face as he made his way through the crowds, whatever they were thinking not the least bit on his mind as he made his way through the final of the students, and was surprised to find himself out the front of the school.

"I'll see you tonight at the dance," Kairi kissed Sora on the cheek as she made her way towards the car, Sora smirking as he touched the spot where she had kissed him, before he stopped.

"Wait...what dance!?"

**_x_**

_Heartilly Manor._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

"The Graduation Dance, didn't you know?"

The entire bedroom was full of clothing from downstairs, suits and shirts and ties lying on everything from Chairs to the Bed. Sora was leaning against the wall, wearing a simple black suit, with a matching vest and a red tie. Riku however, was still in his boxers, looking over a grey, white and black suit as he scratched the back of his head.

"I thought they were just gonna hand me my piece of paper and be done with it," Sora muttered, not remembering a conversation about a dance in the weeks prior to their exams. Then again, his weeks prior to their exams had been filled with doubt, anger and the voice of Vanitas. It wasn't a stretch to imagine that Sora had not heard when they talked about the dance, and had Kairi or any of his friends not said a word, he probably would have spent his evening looking at things related to ShinraCorp, including try to find out something they could use against them, to expose the Corporation. Instead he would be looking at Riku half naked trying to decide on a suit.

"Just take the black one," Sora muttered, and Riku gave it a seconds look before he shook his head, saying as he did, "No, someone else will probably wear black as well,"  
Sora sweat dropped as he said, "Like Me? or the 90% of the male population of Twilight Heights High? Tell you what, if you want to be unique, why don't you show up in a cocktail dress?"

"No, one of the girls will probably show up in one..." Riku muttered as Sora sighed, reaching into his jacket as he took out his phone, it lighting up in his touch as he looked over the notifications, which told him he had a text from Kairi.

**_Where are you? The hall opens in half an hour._**

Sora looked towards Riku who was looking in his mirror, swapping between the grey and white suit, before Sora muttered as he returned the text, "Be...there...shortly...Princess...is...still...de ciding,"

"Sorry, what did you say?" Riku called out, and Sora looked up as he looked to the left, before shaking his head slightly as he slipped his phone into his pocket, "I didn't say anything,"

Riku looked at him for a moment before he returned back to his mirror, saying as he did, "Alright, think I'll go with the grey," and Sora nodded his head as Riku looked at him for a moment in Awkward silence, before Sora took the hint and pointed to the door, "I'll wait outside then," and with a nod indicating he was free to go, Sora made his way towards the door as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Closing the door and taking it out, he looked at the message Kairi had sent, **_Did you tell him to wear a Cocktail dress?_**

Sora smirked as he replied that he would see her in the half an hour, Sora heard the shower go for a couple of moments before it stopped, and didn't have to wait long before Riku had exited his room, dressed in a fine grey suit with a thin black tie and the smell of wet hair mixed with some form of Cologne. He typed something into his phone before he smirked, saying as he did, "Well, let's go," and together the two men made their way towards the doors of the house.

Sora had been glad that they had all decided to go as a group rather then dates. For one he would have felt awkward sitting alone in a car with Kairi, but more importantly Sora felt that with all his friends there, they could all keep him in check just in case Vanitas decided that he wanted to make another appearance. Feinting twice in one day would just make him feel embarrassed for his friends, even if they said that they wouldn't care.

As they made their way down the stairs, Sora smirked as Squall and Rinoa looked towards their son, with smile bright on their faces. Sora folded his arms and couldn't help but hide his laugh as Rinoa pinched her son's cheek and Leon slapped Riku on the back, saying as he did, "Making me proud every day son,"

"Tell me again why you're doing this in front of my friend?" Riku asked as he winced at his father and mother, before looking towards his best friend, who was not trying not to laugh as he said, "Hey, leave me out of it, this is definitely a family thing,"

"I just feel bad that Cloud couldn't be there to see you Sora," Squall said as Rinoa kept fixing her sons suit, and Sora could feel the judgement coming from the SeeD Director, so he quickly said, "Work called him in to do some night stuff, I told him I don't mind," and Squall nodded his head, though Sora could still feel some sort of judgement coming from the man, so Sora ignored it as he allowed a small silent sigh to escape him.

The sound of the limousine honking its horn was the bell Riku was saved by as he pushed his mother away, gave them a quick kiss on the cheek before grabbing Sora and pushing him out the door before his parents could say anything more embarrassing.

The car looked rather long, longer then a normal limo would be. It was a shiny black, that seemed to shine the moon off of the bonnet of the car. Sora didn't have too much time to study the beautiful vehicle as a man got out of the car, dressed in a formal looking suit as he walked around and opened the door, allowing the two men entrance into the car. Sora took one last look at the at the manor before he made his way behind Riku into the car.

Upon entrance the car looked like a small apartment then an actual car. The seats went around the edge of the car, easily being able to fit about 10 well sized people. The back of the car was a hidden fridge (which Riku disappointingly found out there was no alcohol inside). Though there was a tv sitting opposite the door of the limo, it wasn't playing anything. As the car began to leave the manor, Riku looked around until he found the control. Turning it on, Sora saw that it was on a music channel, playing a music video of some song Sora had never heard before, however Riku seemed to know song as he said, "Hey, I love this song," and began to sing loudly.

_I'm gonna pop some tags_

_Only got twenty dollars in my pocket. _

_I-I-I'm hunting, looking for a come-up_

_This is fucking awesome!_

Sora smirked as he listened to his best friend singing the lyrics loudly, Sora looked out the window as they turned left and made their way to the first house, which Sora recognised as Roxas' house. The car stopped as he heard the driver get out and made his way towards the door. Sora shifted as the door opened, and Roxas and Axel both got into the car. Roxas dressed in a white pair of pants and vest, a black shirt and a checkered black and white tie, also supporting a white fedora as he smirked, getting into the car and sitting next to Sora as Axel was the next to get into the car, the sleeves of his red shirt rolled around the sleeves of his black suit and pushed up, and his maroon tie loosely hanging from the collar and a pair of sunglasses hanging from the edge of his nose as he smirked at the others. He wouldn't be surprised if Axel had pushed in a materia or two before the limo had arrived, clearly he had drank a little bit as the smell was emitting throughout the car.

"Hey, I love this song," Axel repeated the same thing Riku had said before the two began badly singing the end of the song, as Sora and Roxas laughed at the two as the song ended, and a cool female voice said, _"You're watching DemyxMusic, the only station with the hottest hits straight from the charts," _

Sora stretched as Axel chuckled, before turning to Riku and said "So, you end up finding a place to party?" And Riku smirked as he nodded his head, "Took me a few hours but I managed to find a good place," to which The two first bumped and turned to the other two, as they nodded their heads in happiness.

As the car stopped for its penultimate time, Axel rubbed his hands as he said, "Excellent, the women are here," and looked to the others as Riku gave him a questionable look before saying "Too bad none of the women are here for you," and the others laughed as Axel shrugged before leaning back, saying, "Doesn't really matter Riku, I can still stare,"

"And risk getting your eyes removed by 3 angry men?" Roxas smirked as the other two nodded, the door opening and the sound of Namine asking, "Whose eyes are we clawing out?" And Sora tuned to face the others, gasping as he did.

Kairi was the second person to get into the limo, but from the viewpoint of the brunette, she was by far the true angel among the three. Dressed in a long thin strapless red dress, Sora didn't need the bragging to tell him that she had had her auburn hair done professionally, her nails done with sparkly red nailpaint, and although she hadn't needed it, a light amount of makeup around her face made the young woman glow with not only anticipation, but also with beauty.

Kairi couldn't help but giggle at Sora's reaction, as he gave him a light kiss on the cheek, before saying, "You don't clean up so bad yourself Sora," in response to his action as Sora ensured his mouth was closed before he smiled. Sora looked to the others, who all looked humoured at the young mans reaction, before he looked towards Namine and Xion.

"You both look very nice," Sora said politely as Namine smiled in her yellow/golden dress as she slipped her light hands into Roxas', and Xion nodded as she felt Riku's muscular arms around her body, lightly sitting on her black silk dress. Kairi gave a look of pretend hurt as she shoved her arm into his, saying as she did, "What about me?"

Sora looked to her before he said, "What? You can read my opinions, you should know," and looked around as he gave a small wink to the others, which earns him laughter from the others and a light slap on the arm from Kairi.

"Ouch," Sora said softly with as all grin on his face as he lightly kissed the girl, feeling the smile on her face expand in the few short seconds as Kairi wrapped her hand around his arm and pushed her face against his shoulder, looking up and smiling as Sora placed his head on her, suddenly feeling a little sleepy for a few moments, before he felt the car stop.

"Well, we're here," Axel stretched, and as the door opened he fixed his jacket and tightened his tie just a tiny bit as he stepped out of the car. Sora and Kairi waited as the others stepped out, and the two looked at each other as Kairi whispered, "Ready?" to which the young man slipped his own hand into the hand of the young woman as he muttered back, "Always," and stepped out of the car.

The school looked different at night time, the head lights were all bright, illuminating the area as dozens of other students with their dates were making their way towards the hall, their arms wrapped around each other, dressed in different color suits and dresses, but all with similar smiles on their faces, looking at the others as they all enjoyed the cold air against their skin. Sora and Kairi were smirking as Axel was busy looking over every women there, earning himself several disgusting and threatening glances. Looking at each other, they followed the others into the hall as Sora looked around, before he smirked and walked in as well.

The hall looked rather different then it had that morning. For one thing, all the chairs had been gone. On the stage was a DJ, with a laptop set up and connected, with rather large sunglasses on and a smirk on his face as he typed something in. The music blasted through the speakers as everyone was jumping up and down. Some of the men had already left their jackets on seats alining the hall and were allowing their ties to bounce up and down as they jumped to the rhythm of the song playing.

Kairi's hand left Sora's as she rushed towards her friends, all of whom were eagerly listening to the song, and yet not jumping up and down due to their dresses. Sora slipped his suddenly cold hands into his pocket as he looked around, finding Riku and Roxas standing to the side as they looked at the hall. Walking towards them, he leaned against the wall as he said, "Tell Namine she did a good job with the setup,"

"I was surprised that she even wanted to do anything," Riku muttered and Roxas smirked as he looked towards the young woman in the golden yellow dress, saying as he did, "Obviously they wanted the best," and with a wink Roxas walked towards the young woman as he held her hand and danced with her.

"Those two have definitely grown confident over this year," Riku muttered with a smirk on his face as he folded his arms. Sora looked towards the two as he glanced over at some of the other girls, who had eyes for Riku. However, as his gaze drew from the girls to his best friend, Sora could not help but let out a smile as he the young mans eyes were on no one but Xion, who was busy dancing with the girls.

"Go to her," Sora muttered as he folded his own arms as Riku was brought out of his trance. He at first looked nervous, but confidence took over as he nodded his head and made his way towards the dance floor. But after a few steps he stopped and turned around to face Sora.

"Kairi is a lovely girl Sora...don't make her wait for too long," and Sora nodded his head as Riku turned around, making his way towards the dance floor, where he joined Roxas, Namine, Xion and Kairi in the dancing.

Sora looked towards the five, all who were dancing and looking like they were having the time of their lives. The spiky haired man let a sigh escape his lips as he slipped his hands in his pocket, feeling the nerves push agains his skin. He bent his head down and allowed his bangs to cover his eyes. He knew he should walk up there and join them, hell he had even kissed the girl, but to ask her to dance? For some reason, that was more scary. Maybe it was Vanitas doing something, maybe it was because his mind was elsewhere, like it had been for the past month or so, or maybe he was just being a stupid teenager who should be like Riku and get over his fears.

A slap on the back caused him to look up as he felt Axel standing next to him, his arms crossed as he arms as he said, "You know what I don't get Sora?"

"What's that Axel?" Sora looked at the man for a few seconds before his eyes returned to the group who were all dancing and having fun.

"You've got a beautiful girl ready to do just about anything for you, and yet you're here standing at the back with the rest of the losers," Axel gestured to a bunch of guys sitting at the back, all longingly looking at the rest of the students who were all dancing and having more fun then they were.

"Oh yeah? then why are you standing here Axel?" Sora scoffed as he looked over the students dancing as he heard the young man laugh, before leaning in and whisper, "Theres a difference between looking at these girl longingly and choosing which girl to flirt with next," to which the young man laughed, and waited in silence, knowing that Axel was waiting for a response from the young man.

So Sora sighed as he said, "Guess i'm just nervous,"

"Nervous about a girl you've woken up in bed next too twice?" Axel asked, and Sora was quick to respond.

"It's not like we did...hey, wait, how do you know?!" Sora pushed himself off of the wall and stared at the young man still leaning on it, a smirk on his face as he muttered, "I have my ways...you two aren't the most subtle of people,"

Sora sighed as he went back to leaning against the wall, looking from the other people who were standing against the wall as he responded, "I guess i'm a little nervous about the prospect of dancing with Kairi,"

Axel looked at the young man and to Kairi on the dance floor, before he shrugged, saying as he did, "Well, if you're not going to dance with her..."

"What?" Sora looked towards Axel suddenly, as the fire red head sighed, a small smile on his face as he said, "I've heard Kairi's a good dancer, and she would be lovely to dance with," and made a slight move to walk towards the dance floor, when suddenly a panic stricken Sora cried out a small "No!" and almost ran towards the dance floor. Axel watched as Sora walked up to Kairi, and before too long the two were dancing. Axel could not help but laugh as he said, "Works every time," before he looked to his left, where two girls, one a blonde and the other silver were looking at him, both with smirks on their face. Feeling the grin taking over his face, he straightened his loose tie again before he made his way towards them, feeling that the night would be better then he had expected.

**_x_**

_Hours Later..._

**_x_**

Laughter was heard from the entrance of the hall as people began to leave. Coats were either around the arm or held over the back of the men, or around dates. People smiled and laughed, remembering the dances and music, some singing songs that had the most impact on them, whether it had been a slow dancing song, or a jumping loud one.

Sora and the others were some of the last to leave, Sora and Kairi smirking at each other as they held each other in their arms, Riku with an arm around Xion as both whispered sweet nothings into each others ears, while Roxas and Namine were hand in hand as they looked at no one but each other.

"Hang on, guys," Sora stopped the others as he looked around, before he said, "Where's Axel?"

The group stopped as they spent a few moments looking around, before Riku smirked as he pointed somewhere in the distance, where Axel was arm in arm with two ladies. Roxas could not help but let a whistle out as Sora and Riku both fist bumped, the ladies all scoffing and muttering, "Pig," under their breath, which the men just laughed as they made their way towards the exit of the school.

Once they had reached the entrance, Sora turned and looked around at the place he had called school for the past year. It was hard to believe this would be the last time he would walk those halls as a student. Sighing, he recalled the first day he had set foot into the school, from where he had met Kairi, Riku, Roxas, Xion, Namine and Axel, and many other classmates, from where he had almost seriously hurting Seifer to laughing with Roxas and Riku at Axel. So many memories in such a short time.

Sora could not help but allow a sad smile to leave his lips before he heard Riku shouting out. Gaining his attention, he heard the man shout out, "Party on the Beach!" and people yelled out in excitement as people began heading towards the beach. Sora shook his head as he smirked at Riku, saying as he did, "How you manage to move an entire party to the beach i'll never know,"

"Never underestimate the power of a Leonhart party," Riku smirked as he pulled out his phone and began texting people, Sora laughing at the young man as he turned his attention to Kairi, smiling as he placed his head on her shoulder and wrapped his hands around the woman, making walking rather awkward, and yet not willing to move from his position.

It wasn't long until Sora could hear the sound of the waves crashing against the sand, the sea was strong in the air, and yet Sora could not help but take a deep breath in from both his nose and his mouth. Allowing a smile to form on his lips, he looked back at Kairi before he released his hand from hers as he ran as fast as he could to the beach, allowing his red tie to flutter behind him as his good shoes hit the sand harder then anything before he finally reached the beach, staring in awe not just at the water, but what Riku had managed to do.

Just like at the Midgar Resort, there was three bonfires, about as tall as Riku, each one supporting a roaring fire. Around the fires were logs where people could sit, and in the distance was several fold out tables, each with Alcohol ranging from Potions to Megalixer, plastic cups and shot glasses around the tables, enough to allow the almost one hundred students to drink without the need to keep ahold of their cups.

Sora could not help but be reminded of the Midgar Resort party where he was almost sure Riku had gotten his idea for the party. Everything was exactly the same, right down to the young guitarist sitting on the log, surrounded by several guys and girls as he strummed his acoustic guitar.

_When Spira's in Ruins, We are the lions_

_Free of the Colosseums._

_In poison places, we are anti venom,_

_we're the beginning of the end._

Sora smirked as he loosened his red tie, taking it off as he shoved it in his jacket pocket, before pulled down the collar of his white shirt. He stretched as he looked to Kairi, who had already taken off her shoes which allowed her to feel the sand in between each and every one of her toes. Once she had placed her shoes onto the beach, she smiled to Sora before she took his hand once again and the two walked over to the drink table, soon on their third drink as they sat on the wood log, listening as the boy continued to sing.

_We are...wild_

_we are like Young Volcanoes._

_We are...wild._

_Destiny Isla, Exotica, _

_do you wanna feel a little beautiful Baby Oh!_

Sora breathed in the salty air again as he turned to Kairi. The young woman seemed transfixed with the fire in front of her, and yet it did not take her long before she looked back to Sora, a small smile creeping on her face as she said, "What?"

"I was just thinking...do you wanna go up there? Show these people a real way to sing like we did in Midgar?" Sora asked with a smirk on his face, and for a moment he could see the temptation in the young woman's eyes. But a second later it was gone and She placed her head back on the young man's shoulders as she muttered, "Not tonight, tonight I just wanna be with you, and not have anyone else looking at us for entertainment,"

Sora smiled as he nodded his head, the lyric's coming from the young man and the hums from the crowd drifting into his ears as he looked around for his friends. Roxas and Namine were sitting a little into the distance, tracing each others handprint into the sand. Riku and Xion were sitting on a different log next to a different fire, being one of the several couples making out. Sora could not help but allow a smirk to form as he looked at Axel, who had somehow managed to convince the two girls he had been with to start making out. He could already see the Materia in all three of their arms. Shaking his head at the man, and knowing that he would pay for it tomorrow, he turned to the young girl he was sitting with, feeling the head of the fire on his skin mixed with the cold sea air made the hair on his arms stand up. He allowed himself to stretch a little bit before he turned to Kairi and said, "Do you want to go for a walk?"

Kairi looked at him as if he was insane wanting to give up the heat, but she soon allowed a smile to form as she nodded her head, and the two stood up, making their way from the fire as Sora turned around to see that their spot had already been taking by a young couple. Sora shook his head as he placed an arm around Kairi's side as they continued making their way away from the three fires and the rest of the group.

As they walked along the beach, Sora saw that Kairi was shivering. He looked at her for a moment, and thought maybe he should give his jacket up to her. But as he saw Kairi glancing at his jacket, and making louder shivering noises, Sora allowed a smirk as he feigned ignorance and looked at the sea. Suddenly Kairi gave a loud cough as Sora looked towards her, saying as he did, "What?"

"I'm cold," The girl announced, and Sora looked around as he tried to hide a grin, "Yeah...so?"

"So it's a custom for a boyfriend to give his girlfriend his jacket when said girlfriend is cold," Kairi placed her cold arms on her hips as Sora nodded his head in understanding before he leaned forward and whispered, "I didn't know we're going out,"

"Well of course we are," Kairi said officially as if Sora was an idiot, and Sora smirked as he said, "Well regardless of our relationship status, there is now way I am giving up my jacket to you,"

Kairi looked like she was about to complain, when suddenly she stopped, her eyes widened as she said, "Sora...there's a wasp on your back,"

The young man suddenly went into full panic mode as he spun around, first trying to find the bug, then he flung his jacket off as he shook his whole body. But as the first hit of cold air slapped his arms like a wet towel, Sora realised too late what he had done, and before he could rectify his mistake, Kairi had already grabbed the jacket and was running down the beach line, hurriedly trying to get the jacket on.

"Oh no you don't," Sora muttered as he began to chase after her, and it wasn't long before Sora had grabbed the young woman, picking her up as Kairi let out a mixture of a scream and laughter as the two fell onto the beach, laughing as the coat now lay a few feet away from them.

Sora wasn't sure who had initiated the kissing, but once it had started neither seemed like they wanted it too end. Sora was sure that Vanitas would be talking in the back of his head, but as the kissing continued, Sora realised why he was remaining silent. It was because it felt right, the kissing fiercely, the touching up and down each others bodies as Kairi had moved towards Sora's belt buckle and Sora withdrew the protection that Axel had slipped into his pocket when Sora had not been looking. None of it seemed awkward, or even made Sora feel nervous. He felt like then and there was right, like he was suppose to be there with Kairi, and as they continued into the night, there was no interruptions from anyone, be it their friends or the voice in Sora's head. It was just the two of them, with the beach air as company, and held tight in each others arms.

**_x_**

_The following morning..._

**_x_**

The vibration in his pocket was what had awoken Sora. He felt the sun against his eyes blind him as his phone vibrated for the second time. He ignored it again as he looked around, and realised that he had never left the beach. Feeling someone next to him, the activities of last night crushed back into his mind as he allowed a small grin to form on his face. Being careful, he moved away from Kairi, ensuring she had the jacket over her like a blanket as he had before. Sora got up as he looked down, realising that his shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his torso. Hurriedly buttoning up his shirt, he felt the vibration again as reached into his pocket, his phone telling him that he had gotten a text;

**_Text message from: (Unknown)  
_**_The letter at your house should get you to where you need to be._

Sora was at first confused about the cryptic message. He looked from his phone to the sleeping young woman, and Sora at first was tempted to wake her up and explain. But the more he thought about it, the more he realised that Kairi would force herself to go with him, and he knew that he couldn't allow her to put herself in harms way. She had done it far to many times for Sora, both at Midgar and at Hallow Bastion. She had done so much for him, but where he was going, and what he was going to do, he needed to do by himself.

Sora sighed as he looked at the young girl one last time, and began to walk away from the her, not daring to look back, for if he did he would be more tempted to run back and never leave her side.

As he crossed the beach, he saw the drunken bodies of men and women snuggled together. He could not help but allow a small smile to pass his lips as he looked to Roxas and Namine asleep in each others arms, Riku and Xion spooning, and Axel in between two girls. He looked at his friends faces one more time, and muttered a 'thank you' to each of them before he turned, finding the path that would take him to the main road.

It wasn't long before he found himself walking down the street towards his house. He could not help but laugh at the first time that he had found himself walking down the street, not sure where everything was and almost convinced that he would get himself lost every time. And yet as he turned to look at his own house, he realised that this street, that the Destiny Islands felt more like home to him then any place he had stayed at previously. And it wasn't the house or the neighbours he had, but it was the people, and the memories he had. Those would be the things that he missed most of all.

As Sora found himself standing outside his house, the first thing he noticed was the letter sitting on the mat in front of the door. Picking it up, it had but one word on the front, _Sora. _Sora looked at it curiously before he decided he would open it in his bedroom, and stuffing it into his pocket he opened the front door. He looked at the empty house as he called out a hello. When nobody answered, he muttered to himself, "Dad must still be out," as he bounded up the stairs into his room. He closed the door despite being alone in the house and sat down on his bed, tearing open the letter and allowing its contents to fall onto the bed.

The first was a plane ticket for one o'clock that afternoon. The ticket looked first class, and was a one way to Edge. Sora scratched his head as he wondered who would send him a ticket there until he looked at the second item, a slip of paper that had one sentence on it. He picked it up as he read it.

_This will help you find the answers, but the cost will be severe. _

As Sora finished reading the last word, he felt pain hit the back of his head. Groaning, the words Vanitas had spoken at the graduation flashed in his mind once again; _"The Key Sora, the final answer's you have been looking for, they lie at the centre of Shinra, in Edge," _and as he suddenly found himself standing up, he realised what that meant, and whoever had sent him the message (Probably the same people who had rescued him and Kairi in the Midgar Resort) knew where he had to go.

Sora had changed his clothing in a matter of minutes, not bothering to pack a bag as he was on the phone to a taxi service. The foreign sounding man said he would be at the house in ten minutes. Having found his wallet and his lockpicks, he looked around his bedroom one final time before he grabbed the ticket and the note, and bounded down the stairs. As he reached the door with his hand on the door handle, he turned around, thinking of whether he should write a note to his father. But the more he thought about it, the more he realised just like with Kairi, that if he wrote a note he would be more inclined to stay behind and live a simple life with his father and his friends. Sora shook his head as he heard the beeping of the taxi outside, and as he took one final look before making his way across the driveway and into the taxi, muttering for the driver to take him to Dark Margin Airport, Sora told himself over and over again that he had suffered too much, that his friends had suffered too much, to live a simple life.

**_x_**

**_SONGS: _**_Thrift Shop - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Young Volcanoes - Fall Out Boy._

**_WOW_**

**_Ok, so i know i haven't updated in about a month, but I have some really good reasons which i will probably explain in a moment, but what about that chapter right? Graduation, Party, a little Lemon, and Shinra know who Sora is now! But it looks like the retrieval party might not be needed if Sora is coming towards them. To be honest i was originally going to leave it with Sora and Kairi doing the Dance with no pants, but because this took a long time to get up, i thought i would give this to you all._**

**_So, what has been going on in my life? Well, i finished my first semester in university, which was buckets of fun, so basically i have found myself either working hard, party'ing hard, or gaming hard._**

**_Speaking of gaming, who watched the live stream of sony's E3 presentation? SO MUCH INFORMATION, cluttered in all the game trailers plus the PS4 reveal, i was pretty stoked that Final Fantasy XV is coming out, i mean we only had to wait 7 years back when it was versus XIII, almost as long as you guys had to wait for an update from me. and KINGDOM HEARTS 3! I was jumping up and down when i saw it, I know it's still early in development but those graphics! and KINGDOM HEARTS 3! AND BLAHHH! -melts into the carpet-_**

**_So i've been playing the last of us, great game by the way, just so amazing the story line and the gameplay, if you have a PS3 i recommend that you get it, and afterwards tell me how much you enjoyed it. Or if you've already finished it, tell me what you thought of the ending. No spoilers though guys, so make sure you PM me your feelings about it._**

**_I've also been getting into the new Deadpool game, which is extremely hilarious as well as entertaining. I would say get that game if you need a chuckle, and after the emotional roller coaster that was the last of us, i definitely needed it._**

**_As always, a huge thank you to those who have subscribed, favorited, and especially reviewed. I love to here what you guys have to say, not just in regards to chapters, but also whats going on in your lives. Honestly, whatever's on your mind, hit me with a PM, i'll be happy to listen :) as always, a huge thank you to _**_lion5589, Flying By Wire, Stepfanny Louise, R. Recollect, DestinyKeyblader28, Random Reader 17, Xerzo LotCN, EthanFlux, Fluoricia, Nathan A. Murray, The V-Blade, Jackson12, ChristianLynch and The Unknowing Herald. _**_You guys are honestly some of the greatest reviewers i've ever had. I love to see your messages whenever i can, and i would love to see alot more, especially with this story almost at an end. _**

**_I will hopefully try and review a lot quicker then I have been. Until then, please leave me a review or a PM, and if it is the latter i will do my absolute best to get back to you. Until then, much love, and stay safe! :)_**

**_Jared Someone._**

**_P.S. I'm terribly sorry for any grammatical errors you might see. Not only did i write a majority of this on my iPad, I also edited it on my iPad, so again, so sorry! _**


	30. Journey to ShinraCorp

**_J _**_enova_

**_x_**

**_XXIX_**

**_x_**

_Twilight Beaches._

_Destiny Islands._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

It was a gust of the cold wind blowing off the jacket that woke Kairi up the morning after the party. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light as she looked around, expecting to find Sora standing close to her. But as her eyes gazed over the area, she could only see a few people waking up from their drunken stupor, and the sea stretching into the distance.

Groaning as her eyes finally adjusted, she slowly got up. Feeling the sand in her messy hair, she moved it away from her face as her thoughts went back to the night before. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in Sora's arms, the sound of the waves a lullaby for the young woman and now she was alone, Sora gone home...or Yevon knew where.

But the more she thought about her situation, not for one second did she believed that she had been a one night stand for the young man. Something else had happened. Her first thoughts turned to Sora being kidnapped, but then she would have heard the commotion and would probably have been taken with him. So he had left on his own accord. Had the others left as well? Kairi had to find out.

Standing up, she felt the cold wind once again. So she looked in the distance to find Sora's coat a short mile away, having been thrown off by the wind. Slowly making her way towards the spot, she reached down and picked it up, placing it on and wrapping herself around it. She followed along the beach, her eyes fixated on the burnt out bonfires, and the several teens snoring loudly in each others arms, or those passed out with empty cups and the faintest light of Materia still in their arms, slowly dying out. Kairi glanced over the bodies as the wind blew her hair behind her, until she found Riku and Xion lying in each others arms.

Bending down, Kairi nudged at Riku, as she quietly tried to wake him up. But this only succeeded in causing the young man to snuggle closer to Xion. Kairi grumbled as she stood up, and delivered a swift bare foot kick to the young man's shoulder, causing Riku to yelp in surprise and Xion to be jerked awake.

"Ouch woman, what the-" Riku grumbled as he realized who had just kicked him. Rubbing his side, and looking at Xion, who looked a bit dazed and confused, he turned back to Kairi as he said, "What? What is it?"

"Sora...he's gone," Kairi said, though it wasn't in a sad or upset tone, more one of worry that Riku instantly picked up. He stretched for a few moments before he managed to pull himself up, the commotion gathering the attention of Roxas and Namine as they walked towards them, Roxas scratching his eyes as he muttered, "What's going on Riku?"

"Sora's gone," Riku muttered as Xion was the next to stand up. Roxas looked from Kairi and Riku as he said, "What do you mean?"

"I mean I woke up and he was gone," Kairi muttered as she scratched her arm, as she looked towards Namine, who said softly, "Sora doesn't seem like the running type to me,"

"He's not," Kairi said strongly as she looked from the beach towards the main road, saying as she did, "There's something else going on here," and the others nodded as Riku thought for a moment, before he said, "It's obvious, isn't it?" To which the others looked at him confused.

Riku rolled his eyes as he responded to their clueless faces, "School's over, Sora feints at graduation and is gone the next day, what's the one place where he would go, the one place that has been the cause for all of this?" and the young man waited before Roxas answered in a mutter, "ShinraCorp,"

"What makes you think he has gone there?" Xion asked the young man, and Roxas turned to face the others as he answered, "Because it's the one place I would go for answers," To which the others looked solemn at the situation, Namine slipping her hand into his for comfort.

"So what do we do?" Namine asked, and the others looked to Riku, who opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Kairi, "I don't know about you lot, but i've been with Sora through thick and thin, I'm not about to let him get into trouble because he's trying to save us from a little hurt," To which Riku responded, "Right then, we're going to ShinraCorp Headquarters,"

The others looked at each other a bit confused, Riku looking at them confused at their confusion as Roxas was the one to voice what everyone else was thinking, "ShinraCorp HQ is in Edge, and we're on the Destiny Islands. How do you expect us to get there Riku?" to which the young man smirked as he held out his phone, saying as he did, "You leave transport to me," and Roxas couldn't help but chuckle at the young man.

The others nodded in agreement with Riku as they began to make their way towards the road, when Roxas stopped as he asked, "Hey, anyone see where Axel went?" to which the others stopped as they began to look around, not having to look far when they saw Axel with his legs spread and in between two girls, a huge grin on his face.

"Part of me wants to just leave him there and let him wake up to two angry girls who remember everything he made them do last night," Roxas muttered as the five looked towards him, but Kairi was the one who smirked as she muttered, "Luckily I'm not that cruel," and she bent down and with a strength that seemed to come out of no where, she grabbed the man by his collar and hoisted him up. The sudden loss of ground from the young man enough to wake him up, his eyes met with the determination glowing from Kairi's, and for the first time, he was lost for a snappy one liner as Kairi put him on his feet, saying as she did, "Sora's disappeared,"

"What? He did a runner...I'll get him," Axel seemed to gather determination out of thin air and actually began to walk towards the highway before he was stopped by Roxas, who said, "Sora isn't the type to run...unless he had a reason,"

"What? You think he had the whole 'Noble' reason to leave her?" Axel scoffed, and Riku folded his arms as he said, "Only Sora is stupid enough to take the noble reason for leaving," and the others nodded in agreement as Axel gave a look of confusion, clearly he had no idea what the others were on about as they made their way towards the highway, Kairi turning to the others and saying as she did, "We should all go home, get changed, and meet at the airport in an hour,"

"Why are we meeting at the airport?" Axel asked, to which Riku walked towards Axel and said, "We're going to rescue Sora from his own noble stupidity, catch up Axe" and with a smile on his face, he lightly slapped Axel cheeks, before he turned and walked away from Axel down the street, towards the highway. Axel rolled his eyes as he moved the opposite way towards his house.

The group split up, all making their way towards their own houses. Kairi could not help but smirk at Riku and Namine as they were walking in their direction, all waving at the cars that honked as they passed by, until they found themselves walking towards the number of houses all lined up next to each other that was Kairi's neighborhood. When they had reached Kairi's house, she turned around and hugged both Riku and Namine, the former telling her that he would be around to pick her up in half an hour. Kairi nodded as he watched her two friends make their way down to the street, before she turned around and made her way inside her house.

As she closed the door, she called out for her mother. When there was no response, Kairi muttered, "Must have been called in," before she made her way to her bedroom. It wasn't long before the young woman had dumped her dress on the bed and had changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Looking through her wardrobe, she found her pink woolen jacket with a black hood. Putting it on, she rolled up the sleeves of her jacket as she grabbed her bag, and stuffed a few pairs of clothes in there as she heard the horn beep outside her window. Looking out, she saw that Riku had changed into a nice pair of jeans, black t-shirt and black leather coat, already having a bag in the back seat Running downstairs with her bag over her shoulder, she made sure that she had locked her door before running towards the car. Riku seemed to be on the phone as she gave the young woman who was stuffing her bag in the back seat of the card a nod before roaring the engine and driving down the street.

"You heard me, I want seven first class tickets to Edge as soon as possible," Riku muttered in anger as he continued watching the road, Kairi managing to hear parts of the conversation from the other side, something about it being impossible until tomorrow.

"No, I don't care what you have to do, put us in the highest class, money is no option," Riku muttered as they turned left, Kairi looking at the young man with a little worry, but he looked back at her and placed an arm on her shoulder as he said, "Fine, thank you, see you in 20," and hanging up, he threw his phone onto the floor as he looked to Kairi, saying as he did, "I managed to get us flights to Edge, wherever Sora is in Edge, we won't be far behind,"

Kairi looked out the window still troubled as Riku looked in front of him, before turning to the young woman as he said, "Listen, whatever has happened, or whatever Sora is getting himself in to, I won't let him get hurt...I promise,"

"No," Kairi muttered as she saw the Dark Margin Airport making its way towards them in the distance as she saw a few others cars carrying his friends near the airport parking lot as well, "I won't let him get hurt,"

**_x_**

_Edge Domestic Airport._

_Edge._

_Present Day._

**_x_**

The doors opened rather cooly as Sora stepped out, the overcrowded airport nothing compared to the busy streets around him. Sora could not help but zip up his jacket and pull out his phone. Typing something it, he managed to bring up the maps application and literally seconds after typing in 'ShinraCorp' his phone had found him the best route. As he looked from the phone to the distance, he found himself looking directly at the ShinraTower, it's Insignia silver against the large black building, overlooking the entire city.

After a few moments of staring, Sora looked around until he found the Taxi lane. Walking towards the nearest Taxi, he got in and muttered to the man sitting at the wheel with a cigarette in his mouth, "Take me to ShinraTower now," and the man nodded his head as he flicked his cigarette away and started the engine to the car, before too long they were making their way throughout the city, the taxi thankfully taking routes that ensured they wouldn't be stuck in traffic.

As Sora swapped from looking outside the window of the vehicle to playing with his phone, he sighed as he found himself swiping through the digital photo album on his phone, which seemed to be showing the young man a group photo of his friends at the dance. As he continued to look through the album, a smile crept onto his face as the photos having been taken by him and sent by his friends and family opened more memories for the young man. The group arriving at the Midgar Resort, a photo of Roxas and Sora at their 18th, Sora, Riku and Kairi standing outside the movie theatre in Edge, all with smiles on their faces, and even a photo of Sora and Cloud with big grins on their faces a few days after they had moved into their new house. Each of the photos had either been taken by Sora or by someone else, but every time he looked at the photographs he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt that he had left his friends and even his father without so much as a note goodbye. Maybe he should at least call Cloud, and tell him goodbye. But as he found himself scrolling through the list of friends and family, his finger hovering over his fathers name, he could not bring himself to do it, and sighed as he exited the contacts application.

As he looked out the window, and found that they were close to ShirnaTower, Sora clicked on the _Keychain App_ which seemed to show on the map dozens upon dozens of Shinra products all marked out with small white dots. Clicking on the 'list' option, he managed to find the Taxi they were in, which just so happened to be a Shinra Vehicle. As the car began to slow down, Sora hit the 'reset' option on the device, where suddenly the meter as well as the entire car shut down just as they came to a stop before coming back on.

"Alright pal, that'll be-" But the man stopped as he looked at the screen, which currently showed that Sora owed the man 0 Munny.

"Huh, guess you forgot to turn the meter on," and with a smile Sora made his way out of the car, smirking as he the man looked from Sora to the meter, confusion on his face and yet nothing he could do but drive off down the street and out of sight. Sora climbed the stairs leading towards the one of three black sliding doors that was the entrance to ShinraTower. Sora looked at the men and women coming out, some in business suits, others in white lab coats, either typing something into an sPhone or an sTab. Sora looked around before he reached one of the door, which opened and allowed him access.

Upon entering the building, he saw that although there had been a large number of people outside, the main lobby area looked deserted. On each corner closest to the sliding doors there was a place to sit, the Clear glass tables holding computer screens just like in the Midgar Resort, where a few people sat looking something up on the internet. Around the room there were several Plasma screens, all of which seemed to be advertising something to do with Shinra. Towards the back was a secretary desk area, each with three women all typing something and making phone calls regarding meetings. On either side of this large desk was a clear small door that shined red and a scanner next to it, where Sora watched people who would tap a clear card against the scanner to change the color of the doors from red to green, allowing entrance.

"Well, I don't have time to steal a card," Sora muttered as he turned on his phone once again and walked towards the front desk. He didn't have to wait long before the youngest of the three woman placed her phone down and took off her glasses. With a smile on her face she said, "Welcome to ShinraCorp, how can I help you?"

"Could you tell Mr. Shinra that Sora Strife is here to see him," Sora said in a mutter just loud enough for the woman to hear him. Before the woman asked whether the young man had an appointment, Sora had turned and walked towards the right side security door. Scrolling through the list on his Keychain App, he found the door mechanics. and hit the option that said 'open' that suddenly turned the red door green. Pushing through, he heard the young woman pick up the phone to call security. Finding the phone on the list, he blocked the signal from the phone, where the woman suddenly found it hard to call the security desk. Walking toward the elevator, he closed it with his phone just as he had stepped inside, where he turned around and saw that there was a card and key-pin combination needed to access the elevator. In a few short moments, Sora had hacked the elevator controls, and scrolling through the levels on the hand-sized touchscreen in front of him embedded into the elevator, he selected _'President Shinra's office' _in which the elevator began to make its way up.

Sora next used his phone to locate all security cameras on each of the floors, before he hacked into the feeds of each. Swiping through each Security Camera, he saw that many of the guards were making their way towards the elevator, while at the front desk they were hastily trying to override the elevator to bring it to the closest level which held security guards. Sora smirked as he scrolled through his options, before overriding the security clearance coming from the desk, ensuring that the elevator only could be manually operated from the young man's phone.

"That should do it," Sora muttered as he turned his attention towards the camera showing the front of Shinra's personal office. His secretary was on the phone, where she suddenly stood up. Sora watched as the young woman withdrew a gun from her desk, and made her way towards the front of the elevator. Positioning herself, she held the gun towards the elevator. Sora smirked as he returned to the list for the third time, finding the gun in particular by narrowing down the radius of the scan to the office level. Hacking the gun itself, Sora locked it from triggering as the door 'ding'ed and the voice Sora instantly recognized as AERIS said, _"Level Twenty-Six, President Shinra's Office," _

As the doors opened, and the blonde haired woman almost yelled in Sora's face, "Get down on the floor now," Sora walked around her as he said, "I'm here to see Shinra," and the last thing he heard as he opened the door was the clicking of the gun and the sudden gasp of fear as nothing fired. Sora turned and flashed the woman a small smirk as he walked inside and closed the door, locking it as he did.

"Drink?"

Sora was surprised as he heard the voice, before he turned around. The office area was was big, just as big as Riku's room at the Heartilly Manor. But it was empty as well, save for a desk at the back, a TV and coffee area to the left, a liquor cabinet and a man to the right. The man was pouring a drink as he smirked at the two fine glasses in front of him. He was dressed in a fine white suit and his blonde hair was neat and tidy. He looked like an ordinary businessman. Sora had been expecting someone a lot more...villainous, maybe a giant, someone who looked like he could willingly allow children to be injected with a prototype serum or sacrifice dozens for his own need. But no, he looked to the world a simple businessman.

"I read that you turned eighteen a few months ago, I'm glad that you got my birthday present to you...even if I didn't know who you were at the time," the blonde muttered as he turned around, a glass in his hand and another on the cabinet. Sipping his drink, he looked at Sora, who still remained silent and yet slowly made his way towards Shinra, the two ignoring the banging on the door as Shinra smiled at the young man.

"Oh, we haven't been formally introduced," the man held out his hand with a genuine smile on his face, "Rufus Shinra the Second, pleasure to finally make your acquaintance," Sora looked at the hand for a moment, before he reached out and shook it tight, it taking all of his willpower not to crush the hand in his own.

"Please, drink up," Shinra said as he turned and made his way towards his desk, taking out his phone and pressing a number. Sora looked at the drink for a moment, before taking it in his hand. The glass felt cold as he muttered, "How do I know you haven't poisoned this?"

"One, because i've poured the same drink into my own glass and drank from it, two because I already know poisons wouldn't work against you and three..." Shinra sat down at his desk as he punched in a number before holding the phone towards his hand, "I've no desire to put anything else into your body ever since I had you injected with Jenova Cells,"

Sora looked at the man for a moment, before he allowed the glass to touch his lips and took a sip of what Sora instantly recognized was Mega Potion. Shaking his head at the burning aftertaste, he turned towards Shinra when he suddenly began talking into his phone, "Elena, tell Security to stand down, Mr. Strife is not going to harm anyone...Do it now...Thank you," Shinra pressed a button on his phone before returning it to his jacket pocket, saying as he did, "I am terribly sorry about that, my security sometimes take things too far when it comes to my safety,"

"You seem to believe that I was going to get past your security so easily," Sora muttered as he slowly sat down, and Shinra let out a small laugh as he finished the remainder of his glass, "When I was told that you were Subject: Vanitas, I was advised to have you collected and brought for testing, but I thought why waste the money, I knew that you would come here, I just had to...give you the proper incentive,"

"...You sent me the ticket?" Sora asked and Shinra nodded as he said, "I knew your curiosity would be too much to allow you to ignore such an open invitation,"

"What do you know Mr. Shinra?" Sora asked as he also finished his drink, and offering his hand, Sora gave him his glass, the President getting up and making his way towards the cabinet.

"I know that your little friend Roxas is really Subject: Ventus, I know you both hail from the Destiny Islands at this point in time, I know you broke into Hallow Bastion a few months ago and most importantly...I know what the both of you are capable of," Shinra smirked as he sat both the glasses on top of the cabinet and pulled out the M-Potion, pouring more of the drink into each. Sora kept a close eye on the hands of the man, ensuring that he didn't slip anything into his drink. Nothing but alcohol was in the glass as Shinra returned the bottle back and walked over to Sora, whom he handed the glass. Sora took it and sipped a little this time as he looked back at the man.

"What I don't know is how you got up here, you managed to get into my office before my people had the chance to bring you up," Shinra sipped his drink as Sora responded, "I like to make an entrance,"

The blonde man smirked as he placed his glass down, saying as he did, "It doesn't matter if you tell me or not, eventually i will find out, just like who you were and where you were, I eventually find out everything,"

"Don't want to make things too easy for you Mr. Shinra," Sora stared at the man with a smirk on his face, to which Shinra smirked as he turned around and looked out the window towards the people. Sora watched the man as he took a sip of his drink, before saying to Sora, "So, why did you come here?"

"I thought you knew all the answers," Sora retorted as Shinra let out a soft smirk once again, finishing the rest of his drink before placing it back on the table, still staring at the people below. Sora waited a few seconds before he said, "Because I knew that I couldn't hide anymore,"

"So you're coming home, your true home, to do what you were born to do?" Shinra smirked as he turned around, a hand in his pocket as he straightened his black tie before looking directly at the man. Sora returned a smirk that was just as sinister as the man before him as he stood up.

"The way I see it, your little Project here isn't something you would want the WRO to know of, what with un-consented Human Experimentation Illegal and everything, it would be easier on you if you had my full permission to continue with Jenova, or at least to continue experimenting on me," Sora folded his arms as he Shinra looked at him for a moment, standing up straight as he looked at Sora.

"And I'm assuming you have some requests to go with this consent?" Shinra asked, to which the young man nodded his head. The blonde smirked as he waved his hand, allowing Sora to list his conditions.

"I only have one...my friends, you leave them alone, that includes Roxas," Sora muttered as Shinra looked at him, coughing a laugh as he retorted, "Without Subject: Ventus we cannot have a thorough outcome in regards to Jenova, I assure you Ventus will be-"

"No," Sora shook his head as he leaned forward, "You already have enough information on Roxas, what with his Heartbeat Files and months of research, you can do the rest on me, fully consented, and you can leave Roxas and the rest out of it,"

Shinra looked at the man for a moment, considering his proposal for a few moments. Finally, he nodded his head as he said, "Alright Sora, if you give us permission to continue experimentation in regards to Project: Jenova, we will not do anything to your friends,"

"I want that in writing, as soon as you give me a contract, so long as my friends are safe, you can do whatever you want to me in regards to experimentation," Sora folded his arms as he stared into the blue eyes that was Rufus Shinra, and the man smirked as he nodded his head, saying as he did, "I'll have my legal team draw something up, and by tomorrow morning you'll have something to sign and we can continue with Jenova,"

Sora nodded his head as he watched Shinra walk over to his desk, saying as he did, "In the meantime we have a lovely room that you can rest in while you wait for the papers," to which Sora smirked as he said, "You mean a Cell?"

"A cell just as cushion-y as the room at the Midgar Resort," Shinra smirked as he withdrew his phone and pressed a button, holding up to his ear and muttering something. Sora didn't have to wait long before Shinra was off the phone, saying as he did, "I'll have the woman you'll be working close with show you to your room," and Sora turned around as he heard the door open, a young woman stepping through with deep blue hair, matching eyes and wearing a lab coat, holding a sTab+ in front of her as she looked towards Sora.

"Sora Strife, Dr. Aqua Villiers, Head of Project: Jenova," Shinra introduced as the young woman looked at Sora, inching her head in greeting as Sora looked at her for a moment, before saying, "Pleasure,"

"Dr. Villers, please escort Subject: Vanitas to his new room," Shinra sat back down on his chair as he turned his computer back on, before looking at something as the woman looked at her boss for a second, before nodding her head and allowing Sora to leave the room first. Sora heard the door close as he walked towards the elevator, feeling the staring from both Shinra's secretary Elena and Aqua. Sora ignored both of them as he pressed the 'down' button on the elevator and waited as Aqua muttered something to Elena, before standing next to Sora as she typed something into her sTab+, saying as she did, "You will be placed in Room Number Two, under orders from President Shinra you are not to leave your room under any circumstances unless authorized by myself or Mr. Shinra. If you require anything you will be-"

"Why?" Sora asked the woman, causing her to stop in her tracks as she was was thrown by the young man's question. She waited a few minutes, and when she didn't respond, Sora extended his question, "Why did you take us?"

"I was under orders by ShinraCorp to find-" Aqua tried to maintain her professionalism, but once again she was cut off by Sora as the elevator opened and both got in, "I don't mean why morally, I mean why specifically us? Was it because we were the only option? or were we just a lucky draw, Is Roxas..." Sora stopped himself, not daring to find out the answer to that question. People had joked about it when they came close to their birthday, but after finding out they had been abducted, there was the chance they were siblings, long lost brothers coming together by fate.

"...you were just there, both of you, random babies, the only thing connecting you was the fact you were from 2 different healthy mothers in the same hospital.." All of her professionalism completely gone as she sighed. The elevator doors opened and Sora walked out of the elevator, each room with a number on the doors which allowed Sora to find his room rather easily. As the elevator doors closed, Aqua sighed as she looked at her sTab+, muttering to herself as she did, "You were an opportunity..."

**_x_**

_Edge State Hospital._

_Edge._

_1994._

**_x_**

The Hospital was buzzing with patrons and staff, all of them extremely busy. There had been an incident causing thousands of people to be injured. Nobody really knew what had caused the incident, and to be honest none of the people there really cared. All that mattered was getting each and every hurt person to where they needed to be, which was causing chaos everywhere, So much chaos that nobody noticed the young blue haired woman getting off the elevator, being waited by a young man with short brown hair dressed in a sharp suit.

"Dr Villiers?" The man said as the woman looked up, before reaching out her hand and saying, "Please, Aqua, how do you do Mr...?"

"Terra Eraqus," The man nodded as the two began moving, both flashed up Identification cards that allowed them entrance into a deeper part of the hospital, what with so much going on around them, no one was looking too closer at their identification cards. If they had, both would have shown that they worked for ShinraCorp.

"Eraqus, as in..." Aqua asked, and Terra rolled his eyes as he said, "Yes, Senate Chancellor Eraqus is my father," and Aqua opened her eyes in surprise as the two continued walking, passing by rushing doctor's and others who seemed to have been burnt from something severe, "So how long have you been working for ShinraCorp,"

"Started six months ago, just been doing a few Security Assignments for ShinraCorp, but I was made Head of Security for Project: Jenova a week ago," Terra muttered as the two turned a corner, heading towards an elevator. As they both stepped inside, and Terra pressed the button, Aqua looked to her guard as she muttered, "So...do you know what we're doing here today?" and Terra looked towards her, staying quiet for a few moments before he cleared his throat, "Yes, I do,"

"And your opinion?" Aqua asked as the two stepped out of the elevator and walked down the long hallway, by-passing Doctors and Nurses as the young man said, "I wasn't hired to make a judgement upon my assignment Aqua, I was brought here to ensure that you succeeded in what you needed to do,"

Aqua didn't say anything as she looked towards the young man. She had been hoping that he would say something that would make her change her mind. But as she sighed, realizing that there was nothing else that could be done, Aqua nodded her head as she said, "Right then, let's get to work," and together the two turned a corner before they had found a door. Looking around, Terra withdrew a blank card from his pocket and swiped the card, where both gained entrance into the room before closing the door.

The entire room was filled with babies, almost three dozen all in cribs sleeping soundly, each with basic medical information on the front on each of the small cribs, including a date of birth, but there was no names on any of the charts. Aqua looked at Terra before looking towards the children, saying as she did, "How much time did you get us,"

"The man said that this hall would be too filled with patients for us to be notice, we've got two minutes," Terra followed Aqua as she made her way through the numerous babies, until she stopped at the crib of one. Looking down, she took the chart before she scanned it, before putting it back saying, "Nope, weak birth plus has been subjected to too many chemicals to keep breathing, mother passed away," as she continued to look through the charts of babies, Terra asked as he looked at some of them, "So, what are you looking for exactly?"

"Hojo stated that he needed two babies who had gone through natural births, that had not been subjected to Drugs, Alcohol or Nicotine from mothers during pregnancy, no chemicals whatsoever," Aqua stated as she looked at a different chart, shaking her head as she placed it down, before she turned to look at another child which made her stop.  
This baby seemed to be awake, the only one in the room awake. The young child was gurgling as it outstretched its arm towards Aqua. The young woman looked at its bright blue eyes staring up as it tried to reach her hair, but was too far away. Aqua took a deep breath as she felt something stir inside of her, before shaking her head as she picked up the chart and looked at the information, saying as she did, "I think I found one, seems to be a natural birth, no problems, all accounts a perfect child,"

"I found one as well," Aqua turned around as she saw the child in one hand, and the chart in another. Aqua grabbed the chart from the young man, and looked over it before looking towards the sleeping baby and Terra, saying as she did, "Right, we've got them, have you got the car?"

"Ready to go," Terra nodded his head as Aqua took a deep breath, before picking up the baby and handing both the charts towards Terra. Both exited the room as Terra looked left and right, making sure there wasn't any staff to stop them, before making their way into the elevator. Once Terra had pressed the button, Aqua looked from both of the babies into her arms to Terra, who said softly, "I've ensured that the underground parking lot is empty for five minutes, and the car is parked right near the elevator, so we should have no trouble getting back to HQ,"

Aqua nodded her head in response as the elevator 'ding'ed, opening up to a surprisingly empty basement parking lot, save for the black sedan parked a few feet away from the Elevator. Terra moved forward as he placed both the charts into the front seat before opening the back door, where two baby carriers had been strapped into both of the back seats. Though the second baby was still asleep, the first one was looking around, not crying, but merely curious as to what was around him. Aqua placed the sleeping baby in first, before moving around to the other side. Smiling at the young child, she ensured that he was secured as she took one more look at the baby, before slowly closing the door and quickly making her way to the front seat. Opening the door, she saw that Terra had already started the car. Picking up both the charts, she sat down and closed the door as Terra began to drive off, Aqua both reading the charts and putting on her seatbelt as the car made its way up a ramp and into the sunlight. Once she had finished reading and the car had passed several of the Ambulances making their way inside, Aqua reached for her phone and dialed a number before holding it to her ear, Terra looking at the woman with guilt on her face as she took a deep breath, saying as she did, "Professor Hojo...we have found two subjects for Project: Jenova...Subject Vanitas and Ventus will be presented within the hour..."

**_x_**

**I feel like I am so mean to you guys, making you wait an entire month for a chapter, and then pulling a new one out within a couple of days. Then again, you have a new chapter so quickly, so I guess it makes up for it.**

**Lot of information being discovered, including the big one which i probably should have made more fuss of in the last chapter, which is Sora and Roxas were both random babies at the same hospital...of course, they could be brothers, but that would be an extreme twist...nahh, they're not xD**

**So, we're about two to three chapters away from the end of this story more or less, And in just over a month it will have been one year since i started this story, but i'll save the mushy stuff for another time, all I will say is that don't think because the end is near that i haven't got any more tricks to pull out of my sleeve, i've got a few reveals and a cliffhanger or two to make you want to punch me, so look out for those **

**On a kinder note, i want to once again thank all the people who favorited and subscribed, and a special thank you to those who reviewed, **R. Recollect, soushin5, Xerzo LotCN, EthanFlux, Fluoricia, DestinyKeyblader28, Random Reader 17, Flying By Wire, rageaxe195 The V-Blade and aeon-stasis. **You guys honestly make a fanfic writer happy, so keep sending me those lovely reviews.**

**Hopefully the next chapter will be out soon, with any luck i should be getting next week off of work, so with nothing but writing to do, the story will (hopefully) reach a conclusion in the next couple of weeks...but don't hold me to that. Anyway, until next time, keep sending me those reviews/subscriptions/favorites, and i'll keep making you chapters.**

**Jared Someone.**


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